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j3 



This book belonged to 
A.KINGSLEY PORTER 

,88,^.95, 

IXaxe- Kapytbv 
a.fj.cjfj.r]rov 

HARVARD COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

POEMS FROM THE CHINESE 



Books by Amy Lowell 

PUBLISHED BY 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

Poetry 

LEGENDS 

PICTURES OF THE FLOATING WOBLD 

CAN Grande's castle 

MEN, WOMEN AND GHOSTS 

SWORD BLADES AND POPPY SEED 

A DOME OF MANY-COLOURED GLASS 

(in collaboration with VliORBNCB ATSOOUOB) 
FIR-FLOWER TABLETS: POEMS TRANSLATED 

FROM THE CHINESE 

Prose 

TENDENCIES IN MODERN AMERICAN POETRY 
SIX FRENCH poets: STUDIES IN CONTEMPO- 
RARY LITERATURE 




In Black. thcFVesentDivisionj 

I n Red. the Ancient Districts &c. referred U 

Jo the Poems 
fJie tranriittrmim ttetd u «U* i^titJIvtanceJ 
Scale cf !£]» 



y. £«jl> of er 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Poems translated from the Chinese by 
FLORENCE AYSCOUGH 

Hon. Mem. North China Branch, Royal Asiatic Society 



ENGLISH VERSIONS 
BY 

AMY LOWELL 



i 



i: 







BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

The Riverside Press^ Cambridge 

1921 



A 



- 3 



COPYRIGHT, 1931, BY FLORBNCB AYSCOUOH AND AMY LOWKU. 

ALL RIGHTS RB8KRVXD 



/^arvardN 

(UNIVERSlTYl 

LIBRARY 
I FEB 25 1964 \ 



PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. 



PREFACE 

BY AMY LOWELL 

Let me state at the outset that I know no Chinese. My 
duty in Mrs. Ayscough's and my joint collaboration has 
been to turn her literal translations into poems as near to 
the spirit of the originals as it was in my power to do. It 
has been a long and arduous task, but one which has amply 
repaid every hour spent upon it. To be suddenly intro- 
duced to a new and magnificent literature, not through 
the medium of the usual more or less accurate translation, 
but directly, as one might burrow it out for one's self with 
the aid of a dictionary, is an exciting and inspiring thing. 
The method we adopted made this possible, as I shall 
attempt to show. The study of Chinese is so difiOicult that 
it is a life-work in itself, so is the study of poetry. A sino- 
logue has no time to learn how to write poetry; a poet has 
no time to learn how to read Chinese. Since neither of us 
pretended to any knowledge of the other's craft, our 
association has been a continually augmenting pleasure. 

I was lucky indeed to approach Chinese poetry through 
such a medium. The translations I had previously read 
had given me nothing. Mrs. Ayscough has been to me the 
pathway to a new world. No one could be a more sympa- 

V 



PREFACE 

thetic go-between for a poet and his translator, and Mrs. 
Ayscough was well-fitted for her task. She was bom m 
Shanghai. Her father, who was engaged in business there, 
was a Canadian and her mother an American. She lived in 
China mitil she was eleven, when her parents returned to 
America in order that their children might finish their 
education in this country. It was then that I met her, so 
that our friendship is no new thing, but has persisted, in 
spite of distance, for more than thirty years, to ripen in the 
end into a partnership which is its culmination. Returning 
to China in her early twenties, she became engaged to an 
Englishman connected with a large British importing house 
in Shanghai, and on her marriage, which took place almost 
immediately, went back to China, where she has lived ever 
since. A diligent student of Chinese life and manners, she 
soon took up the diOGicult study of literary Chinese, and 
also accepted the position of honorary librarian of the 
library of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic 
Society. Of late years, she has delivered a number of lec- 
tures on Chinese subjects in China, Japan, America, and 
Canada, and has also found time to write various pam- 
phlets on Chinese literature and customs. 

In the Autumn of 1917, Mrs. Ayscough arrived in Amer- 
ica on one of her periodic visits to this country. She 
brought with her a large collection of Chinese paintings for 
exhibition, and among these paintings were a number of 

vi 



PREFACE 

examples of the "Written Pictures." Of these, she had 
made some rough translations which she intended to use to 
illustrate her lectures. She brought them to me with a 
request that I put them into poetic shape. I was fascinated 
by the poems, and, as we talked them over, we realized that 
here was a field in which we should like to work. When she 
returned to China, it was agreed that we should make a 
volume of translations from the classic Chinese writers. 
Such translations were in the line of her usual work, and I 
was anxious to read the Chinese poets as nearly in the 
original as it was possible for me to do. At first, we hardly 
considered publication. Mrs. Ayscough lives in Shanghai 
and I in Boston, and the war-time mails were anything 
but expeditious, but an enthusiastic publisher kept con- 
stantly before us our ultimate, if remote, goal. Four years 
have passed, and after many unavoidable delays the book 
is finished. We have not done it all by correspondence. 
Mrs. Ayscough has come back to America several times 
during its preparation; but, whether together or apart, 
the plan on which we have worked has always been the 
same. 

Very early in our studies, we realized that the compo- 
nent parts of the Chinese written character counted for 
more in the composition of poetry than has generally been 
recognized; that the poet chose one character rather than 
another which meant practically the same thing, because 

vii 



PREFACE 

of the descriptive allusion in the make-up of that particular 
character; that the poem was enriched precisely through 
this undercurrent of meaning in the structure of its char- 
acters. But not always — and here was the diflficulty. 
Usually the character must be taken merely as the word it 
had been created to mean. It was a nice distinction, when 
to allow one's self the use of these character undercurrents, 
and when to leave them out of count entirely. But I would 
not have my readers suppose that I have changed or exag- 
gerated the Chinese text. Such has not been the case. The 
analysis of characters has been employed very rarely, and 
only when the text seemed to lean on the allusion for an 
added vividness or zest. In only one case in the book have 
I permitted myself to use an adjective not inherent in the 
character with which I was dealing — and, in that case, the 
connotation was in the word itself, being descriptive of an 
architectural structure for which we have no equivalent — 
except in the " Written Pictures," where, as Mrs. Ayscough 
has stated in her Introduction, we allowed ourselves a 
somewhat freer treatment. 

It has been necessary, of course, to acquire some knowl- 
edge of the laws of Chinese versification. But, equally of 
course, these rules could only serve to bring me into closer 
relations with the poems and the technical limits of the 
various forms. It was totally impossible to follow either 
the rhythms or the rhyme-schemes of the originals. All 

• • • 

via 



PREFACE 

that could be done was to let the English words fall into 
their natural rhythm and not attempt to handicap the 
exact word by introducing rhyme at all. This is the method 
I followed in my translations of French poems in my book, 
**Six French Poets." I hold that it is more important to 
reproduce the perfume of a poem than its metrical form, 
and no translation can possibly reproduce both. 

Our plan of procedure was as follows: Mrs. Ayscqugh 
would first write out the poem in Chinese. Not in the 
Chinese characters, of course, but in transliteration. Op- 
posite every word she put the various meanings of it which 
accorded with its place in the text, since I could not use a 
Chinese dictionary. She also gave the analyses of whatever 
characters seemed to her to require it. The lines were care- 
fully indicated, and to these lines I have, as a rule, strictly 
adhered; the lines of the translations usually corresponding, 
therefore, with the lines of the originals. In the few poems 
in which the ordering of the lines has been changed, this has 
been done solely in the interest of cadence. 

I had, in fact, four different means of approach to a poem. 
The Chinese text, for rhyme-scheme and rhythm; the dic- 
tionary meanings of the words; the analyses of characters; 
and, for the fourth, a careful paraphrase by Mrs. Ayscough, 
to which she added copious notes to acquaint me with all 
the allusions, historical, mythological, geographical, and 
technical, that she deemed it necessary for me to know. 

ix 



PREFACE 

Having done what I could with these materials, I sent the 
result to her, when she and her Chinese teacher carefully 
compared it with the original, and it was returned to me, 
either passed or commented upon, as the case might be. 
Some poems crossed continent and ocean many times in 
their course toward completion; others, more fortunate, 
satisfied at once. On Mrs. Ayscough's return to America 
this year, all the poems were submitted to a farther meticu- 
lous scrutiny, and I can only say that they are as near the 
originals as we could make them, and I hope they may give 
one quarter of the pleasure to our readers that they have to 
us in preparing them. 



CONTENTS 

IIVTRODUCTION 

LI T'AI-PO. (a.d. 701-762) 

Songs of the Marches 1 

Battle to the South of the City 5 

The Perils of the Shu Road 6 

Looking at the Moon After Rain 9 

The Lonely Wife 10 

The Pleasures Within the Palace 12 

The Young Girls of Yueh 13 

Written in the Character of a Beautiful Woman 14 

Songs to the Peonies 16 

Spring Grief and Resentment 18 

The Palace Woman and the Dragon Robes 19 

The Nanking Wine-Shop 20 

F&ig Huang T'ai 21 

The Northern Flight 22 

Fighting to the South of the City 24 

The Crosswise River 26 

On Hearing the Buddhist Priest Play his Table-Lute 27 

Ch'ang Kan 28 

Sorrow During a Clear Autumn 30 

Poignant Grief During a Sunny Spring 32 

Two Poems Written to Ts'ui (the Official) 34 

Sent as a Parting Gift to the Second Official 35 

The Song of the White Clouds 36 

Wind-Bound at the New Forest Reach 37 

At the Ancestral Shrine of King Yao 38 

Drinking Alone in the Moonlight. I 39 

xi 



CONTENTS 

Drinking Alone in the Moonlight. II 40 

Statement of Resolutions After Being Drunk 41 

River Chant 42 

Separated by Imperial Summons 44 

A Woman Sings 46 

The Palace Woman and the Soldiers* Cook 47 

The Sorrel Horse 48 

A Beautiful Woman Encountered on a Field-Path.. 49 

Saying Good-Bye to a Friend 50 

Descending the Extreme South Mountain 51 

The Terraced Road 52 

Hearing a Bamboo Flute in the City of Lo Yang 54 

The Retreat of Hsieh Kung 55 

A Traveller Comes to the Old Terrace of Su 56 

The Rest-House on the Clear Wan River 57 

Drinking Song 58 

Answer to an Affectionate Invitation 60 

Parrot Island 61 

The Honourable Lady Chao 62 

Thinking of the Frontier 63 

A Song of Resentment 64 

Picking Willow 66 

Autumn River Song 67 

Visiting the Taoist Priest 68 

Reply to an Unrefined Person 69 

Reciting Verses by Moonlight 70 

Passing the Night at the White Heron Island 71 

Ascending the Three Chasms 72 

Parting from Yang, a Hill Man 73 

Night Thoughts 74 

The Serpent Mound 75 

Old Tai's Wme-Shop 76 

Drinking in the T*ao Pavilion 77 

•• 

Xll 



CONTENTS 

Song for the Hour When the Crows Roost 78 

Poem Sent to the Official Wang 79 

Drinking Alone on the Rock in the River 80 

A Farewell Banquet 81 

Taking Leave of Tu Fu 82 

The Moon Over the Mountain Pass 83 

The Taking-Up of Arms 84 

A Song of the Rest-House of Deep Trouble 85 

The " Looking-For-Husband " Rock 86 

After Being Separated for a Long Time 87 

Bitter Jealousy in the Palace of the High Gate 88 

Eternally Thinking of Each Other 89 

Passionate Grief 91 

Sung to the Air : " The Mantztt like an Idol " 92 

At the Yellow Crane Tower. 93 

In Deep Thought, Gazing at the Moon 94 

Thoughts from a Thousand Li 95 

Word-Pattern 96 

The Heaven's Gate Mountains 97 

On Hearing that Wang Ch'ang-ling Had Been Exiled 98 

Parting Gift to Wang Lun 99 

Saying Good-Bye to a Friend Going to the Plum-Flower 

Lake 100 

A Poem Sent to Tu Fu 101 

Bidding Good-Bye to Yin Shu 102 

TU FU. (a.d. 712-770) 

A Visit to the F^g Hsien Temple 103 

The Thatched House Unroofed by an Autumn Gale 104 

The River Village 106 

The Excursion 107 

The Recruiting Officers 109 

Crossing the Frontier. I 111 

Crossing the Frontier. II 112 

••• 

Xlll 



CONTENTS 

The Sorceress Gorge 113 

Thinking of Li Po on a Spring Day 114 

At the Edge of Heaven 115 

Sent to Li Po as a Gift 116 

A Toast for Mgng Yiin-ch'ing 117 

Moon Night 118 

PO CHU-I (a.d. 772-846) 

Hearing the Early Oriole * ^^ a 119 

. . VX^^^\ LIU YU-HSI (Circa a.d. 844) -7^:^:^ oi^ - V^" ^ 
^ -7 ) The City of Stones -NrA-^M-^y^AAVvA ^ 120 

"^ " / NIU HSI-CHI. (Circa a.d. 733) 

Sung to the Tune of "The Unripe Hawthqm Berry 'V. 121 

WANG WEL (A.D. 699-759) |t>^^*^ 0| S i^^""'*^!,^ 

After an Imperial Audience S ^^^^^^^^-^ <J^ |Wv.A ^125 

The Blue-Green Stream Cl23 

Farm House on the Wei Stream 124 

CH'IU WEL (Circa a.d. 700) 

Seeking for the Hermit of the West Hill 125 

CHI WU-CH'IEN. (Circa a.d. 733) 

Floating on the Pool of Jo Ya 126 

MfeNG CHIAO. (Circa a.d. 790) 

Sung to the Air: "The Wanderer " 127 

WEI YING-WU. (Circa a.d. 850) * 

Farewell Words to the Daughter of Yang 128 

WfiN TlNG-YtJN. (Circa a.d. 850) 

Sung to the Air: "Looking South " 130 

DESCENDANT OF FOUNDER SOUTHERN TANG 
DYNASTY. (Circa A.D. 960) 
Together We Know Happiness ^ ^ / 131 

T'AO Yt)AN-MING. (a.d. 365-427) S^.^^^ V *- v * { i 

Once More Fields and Gardens 132 

f xiv 



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i:..y-.tLKj v.^ \^ o^-~. ^■>-^-' -'"^^ I 



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i. L V- -V f' \^s^'\ '^ -Vs^ '^ - 



CONTENTS 

ANONYMOUS. LIANG DYNASTY (a.d, 502-557) 

Song of the Snapped Willow 134 

AUTHORSHIP UNCERTAIN. CHOU DYNASTY. 
REIGN OF KING HSUAN. (826-781 b.c.) 4 
The Qoudy River 135 

EMPEROR WU OF HAN. (156-87 b.c.) 

To the Air: "The Fallen Leaves " 139 

EMPEROR CHAO OF HAN. (94-73 b.c.) 

Early Autumn at the Pool of Sprinkling Water 140 

EMPEROR UNG OF LATER HAN. (a.d. 156-189) 

Proclaiming the Joy of Certain Hours 141 

PAN CHIEH-Yt). (Circa 32 b.c.) 

Song of Grief 142 

CHIANG TS'AI-FIN. (Circa a.d. 750) 

Letter of Thanks for Precious Pearls 143 

YANG KUEI-FEI. (Circa a.d. 750) 

Dancing 144 

LIANG DYNASTY. (a.d. 502-557) 

Songs of the Courtesans 145 

MOTHER OF THE LORD OF SUNG. (Circa 600 b.c.) 

The Great Ho River 147 

WRITTEN PICTURES 

An Evening Meeting 151 

The Emperor's Return 152 

Portrait of Beautiful Concubine 153 

Calligraphy 154 

The Palace Blossoms 155 

One' Goes a Journey 156 

From the Straw Hut Among the Seven Peaks 157 

On the Classic of the HOls and Sea 159 

XV 



CONTENTS 

The Hermit 160 

After How Many Years 161 

The Inn at the Mountain Pass 164 

Li T'ai-po Meditates 165 

Pair of Scrolls 166 

; Two Panels 167 

The Return 168 

Evening Calm 169 

Fishing Picture 170 

Spring. Summer. Autumn 171 

NOTES. 173 

KEY TO PLAN OF CHINESE HOUSE 223 

TABLE OF CHINESE HISTORICAL PERIODS 227 

Thtnkt are due to the editora of Tk* Ntrih Am$rUan RtvitWy 7ht Bfkmany Thi Dial^ 
7Ti* Nno r»rh Evining P»tty Ptttry^ and AtU^ for permlMion to reprint poems which have 
already appeared in their magazines. 



xvi 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



MAP ' Froniispieee 

FACSIMILE OF "HANGING -ON- THE -WALL 

POEM" Tofaeep.no 

PLAN OF CHINESE HOUSE To face p. 223 



xvii 



INTRODUCTION 

By FLORENCE AYSCOUGH 

There has probably never been a people in whose life 
poetry has played such a large part as it has done, and 
does, among the Chinese. The unbroken continuity of their 
history, throughout the whole of which records have been 
carefully kept, has resulted in the accumulation of a vast 
amount of material; and this material, literary as well as 
historical, remains available to-day for any one who wishes 
to study that branch of art which is the most faithful index 
to the thoughts and feelings of the "black-haired race,'* 
and which, besides, constitutes one of the finest literatures 
produced by any race the world has known. 

To the confusion of the foreigner, however, Chinese po- 
etry is so made up of suggestion and allusion that, without 
a knowledge of the backgrounds (I use the plural advisedly) 
from which it sprang, much of its meaning and not a Uttle 
of its beauty is necessarily lost. Mr. Arthur Waley, in the 
preface to his "A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems," 
says: " Classical allusion, always the vice of Chinese poetry, 
finally destroyed it altogether." Granting the unhappy 
truth of this statement, the poetry of China is nevertheless 
so human and appealing as to speak with great force even 

xix 



INTRODUCTION 

to us who live under such totally difTerent conditions; it 
seems worth while, therefore, to acquke a minimum of 
knowledge in regard to it and so increase the enjoyment to 
be derived from it. In the present collection, I have pur- 
posely included only those poems in which this national 
vice is less in evidence; and this was not a difficult task. 
There is such an enormous body of Chinese poetry that the 
difficulty has been, not what to take, but what to leave out. 
I have been guided somewhat by existing translations, not 
wishing to duplicate what has already been adequately 
done, when so much still remains untouched. Not that all 
these poems appear in English for the first time, but many 
of them do; and, except for Mr. Waley's admirable work, 
English renderings have usually failed to convey the flavour 
of the originals. 

Chinese scholars rank their principal poets in the follow- 
ing order: Tu Fu, Li T'ai-po, and Po Chii-i. Realizing that, 
naturally, in any literature, it is the great poets which 
another nation wishes to read, I have purposely kept 
chiefly to them, and among them to Li T'ai-po, since his 
poems are of a universal lyricism. Also, Mr. Waley has 
devoted his energies largely to Po Chii-i. Tu Fu is very 
difficult to translate, and probably for that reason his work 
is seldom given in English collections of Chinese poems. 
Some of his simpler poems are included here, however. A 
small section of the book is devoted to what the Chinese 



INTRODUCTION 

call " written-on-the-wall-pictures." I shall come back to 
these later. 

The great stumbling-block which confronts the trans- 
lator at the outset is that the words he would naturally use 
often bring before the mind of the Occidental reader an 
entirely different scene to that actually described by the 
Oriental poet. The topography, the architecture, the 
fauna and flora, to say nothing of the social customs, are 
all alien to such a reader's own surroundings and cannot 
easily be visualized by him. Let me illustrate with a mod- 
em poem, for it is a curious fact that there has lately 
sprung up in America and England a type of poetry which 
is so closely allied to the Chinese in method and intention 
as to be very striking. This is the more remarkable since, 
at the time of its first appearance, there were practically no 
translations of Chinese poems which gave, except in a re- 
mote degree, the feeling of the originals. So exact, in fact, 
is this attitude toward the art of poetry among the par- 
ticular group of poets to whom I have reference and the 
Chinese masters, that I have an almost perfect illustration 
of the complications of rendering which a translator runs 
up against by imagining this little poem of Miss Lowell's 
being suddenly presented to a Chinese scholar in his grass 
hut among the Seven Peaks: 



XXI 



INTRODUCTION 



NOSTALGIA 

By Amy Lowell 

** Through pleasures and palaces" — 

Through hotels, and Pullman cars, and steamships • • • 

Pink and white camellias 

floatmg in a crystal bowl. 
The sharp smell of firewood. 
The scrape and rustle of a dog stretching himself 

on a hardwood floor. 
And your voice, reading — reading — 

to the slow ticking of an old brass clock . . • 

"Tickets, please I" 

And I watch the man in front of me 

Fumbling in fourteen pockets. 

While the conductor balances his ticket-punch 

Between his fingers. • 

As we read this poem, instantly pictures of American 
travel start before om* eyes: rushing trains with plush- 
covered seats, negro porters in dust-grey suits, weary 
ticket-collectors; or marble-floored hotel entrances, clang- 
ing elevator doors, and hurrying bell-boys, also the vivid 
suggestion of a beautiful American house. But our scholar 
would see none of this. To him, a journey is undertaken, 
according to the part of the country in which he must 
travel, either in a boat, the types of which are infinitely 
varied, from the large, slow-going travelling barge capable 
of carrying many passengers, to the swifter, smaller craft 

xxii 



INTRODUCTION 

which hold only two or three people; in one of the several 
kinds of carriages; in a wheelbarrow,. a sedan chair, a mule 
litter, or on the back of an animal — horse, mule, or donkey, 
as the case may be. Again, there is no English-speaking 
person to whom "Home, Sweet Home" is not familiar; in 
a mental flash, we conclude the stanza suggested by the 
first line, and know, even without the title, that the sub- 
ject of the poem is homesickness. Our scholar, naturally, 
knows nothing of the kind; the reference is no reference to 
him. He is completely at sea, with no clue as to the emo- 
tion the poem is intended to convey, and no understanding 
of the conditions it portrays. Poem after poem in Chinese 
is as full of the intimate detail of daily life, as dependent 
upon common literary experience, as this. There is an old 
Chinese song called "The Snapped Willow." It, too, refers 
to homesickness and allusions to it are very frequent, but 
how can an Occidental guess at their meaning unless he has 
been told ? In this Introduction, therefore, I have endeav- 
oured to give as much of the background of this Chinese 
poetry as seems to me important, and, since introductions 
are made to be skipped, it need detain no one to whom the 
facts are already known. 

The vast country of China, extending from the plains of 
Mongolia on the North to the Gulf of Tonquin on the 
South, a distance of somewhat over eighteen hundred 
miles, and from the mountains of Tibet on the West to the 

xxiii 



INTRODUCTION 

Yellow Sea on the East, another stretch of about thirteen 
hundred miles, comprises within its "Eighteen Provinces" 
practically every climate and condition under which human 
beings can exist with comfort. A glance at the map will 
show the approximate positions of the ancient States which 
form the poetic background of China, and it will be noticed 
that, with the exception of YUeh, they all abut either on 
the Huang Ho, better known as the Yellow River, or on the 
Yangtze Eiang. These two great rivers form the main 
arteries of China, and to them is largely due the character 
of the people and the type of their mythology. 

The Yellow River, which in the old mythology was said 
to have its source in the Milky Way (in the native idiom, 
"Cloudy" or "Silver River"), really rises in the K'un Lun 
Mountains of Central Asia; from thence its course lies 
through the country supposed to have been the cradle of 
the Chinese race. It is constantly referred to in poetry, as 
is also its one considerable tributary, the Wei River, or 
"Wei Water," its literal name. The Yellow River is not 
navigable for important craft, and running as it does 
through sandy loess constantly changes its course with the 
most disastrous consequences. 

The Yangtze Kiang, "Son of the Sea," often referred to 
as the " Great River," is very different in character. Its 
source lies among the mountains of the Tibetan border, 
where it is known as the "River of Golden Sand." After 

xxiv 



INTRODUCTION 

flowing due South for several hundred miles, it turns 
abruptly to the North and East, and, forcing its way 
through the immense wall of mountain which confronts it, 
"rushes with incredible speed" to the far-off Eastern Sea, 
forming in its course the Yangtze Gorges, of which the 
most famous are the San Hsia, or "Three Chasms." To 
these, the poets never tire of alluding, for, to quote Li T'ai- 
po, the cliffs rise to such a height that they seem to " press 
Green Heaven." The water is low during the Winter 
months, leaving many treacherous rocks and shoals un- 
covered, but rises to a seething flood during the Summer, 
when the Tibetan snows are melting. The river is then 
doubly dangerous, as even great pinnacles of rock are con- 
cealed by the whirling rapids. Near this point, the Serpent 
River, so-called from its tortuous configuration, winds its 
way through deep ravines and joins the main stream. As 
may be imagined, navigation on these stretches of the 
river is extremely perilous, and an ascent of the Upper 
Yangtze takes several months to perform since the boats 
must be hauled over the numerous rapids by men, called 
professionally "trackers," whose work is so strenuous that 
they are bent nearly double as they crawl along the tow- 
paths made against the cliffs. In spite of the precipitous 
nature of the banks, many towns and villages are built 
upon them and rise tier on tier up the mountain sides. 
Having run about two-thirds of its course and reached the 

XXV 



INTRODUCTION 

modem city of Hankow, the Great River changes its mood 
and continues on its way, immense and placid, forming the 
chief means of commmiication between the sea and Central 
China. The remarkably fertile comitry on either side is 
intersected by water-ways, natm'al and artificial, used 
instead of roads, which latter do not exist in the Yangtze 
Valley, their place being taken by paths, some of which are 
paved with stone and wide enough to accommodate two 
or three people abreast. 

As travel has always been very popular, every conceiv- 
able form of water-borne craft has sprung up, and these the 
poets constantly used as they went from the capital to take 
up their official posts, or from the house of one patron to 
another, the ancient custom being for the rich to entertain 
and support men of letters with whom they "drank wine 
and recited verses," the pastime most dear to their hearts. 
The innumerable poems of farewell found among the works 
of all Chinese poets were usually written as parting gifts 
from the authors to their hosts. 

As it nears the sea, the river makes a great sweep round 
Nanking and flows through what was once the State of Wu, 
now Baangsu. This and the neighbouring States of YUeh 
and Ch'u (the modem Chgkiang and parts of Hunan, 
Kweichow, and Kiangsi) is the country painted in such 
lovely, peaceful pictures by Li T'ai-po and his brother poets. 
The climate being mild, the willows which grow on the 

xxvi 



INTRODUCTION 

banks of the rivers and canals are seldom bare and begin to 
show the faint colour of Spring by the middle of January; 
and, before many days, the soft bud-sheaths, called by the 
Chinese "willow-snow," lie thick on the surface of the 
water. Plum-trees flower even while the rare snow-falls 
turn the ground white, and soon after the New Year, the 
moment when, according to the Chinese calendar, Spring 
"opens," the fields are pink with peach-bloom, and gold 
with rape-blossom, while the air is sweetly scented by the 
flowers of the beans sown the Autunm before. Walls and 
fences are unknown, only low ridges divide the various 
properties, and the little houses of the farmers are built 
closely together in groups, as a rule to the South of a bam- 
boo copse which acts as a screen against the Northeast 
winds prevailing during the Winter; the aspect of the rich 
plain, which produces three crops a year, is therefore that 
of an immense garden, and the low, grey houses, with their 
heavy roofs, melt into the picture as do the blue-coated 
people who live in them. Life is very intimate and com- 
munistic, and the affairs of every one in the viUage are 
known to every one else. The silk industry being most 
important, mulberry-trees are grown in great numbers to 
provide the silk-worms with the leaves upon which they 
subsist, and are kept closely pollarded in order that they 
may produce as much foliage as possible. 
This smiling country on the river-banks, and to the 

xxvii 



INTRODUCTION 

South, provides a striking contrast to those provinces lying 
farther North and West. Shantung, the birthplace of 
Confucius, is arid and filled with rocky, barren hills, and 
the provinces of Chili, Shansi, Shensi, and Kansu, which 
extend Westward, skirting the Great Wall, are also sandy 
and often parched for lack of water, while Szechwan, lying 
on the Tibetan border, although rich and well irrigated, is 
barred from the rest of China by tremendous mountain 
ranges diSicult to pass. One range, called the '* Mountains 
of the Two-Edged Sword," was, and is, especially famous. 
It formed an almost impassable barrier, and the great Chu 
Eo-liang, therefore, ordered that a roadway, of the kind 
generally known in China as chart tao (a road made of 
logs laid on piers driven into the face of a clifif and kept 
secure by mortar) be built, so that travellers from Shensi 
might be able to cross into Szechwan. This road is de- 
cribed by li T'ai-po in a very beautiful poem, " The Ter- 
raced Road of the Two-Edged Sword Mountains." 

These varied scenes among which the poets lived differed 
again from those which flashed before their mental eyes 
when their thoughts followed the soldiers to the far North- 
west, to the country where the Hsiung Nu and other Mon- 
gol tribes lived, those Barbarians, as the Chinese called 
them, who perpetually menaced China with invasion, who, 
in the picturesque phraseology of the time, desired that 
their horses should ''drink of the streams of the South." 

xxviii . 



INTRODUCTION 

These Mongol hordes harassed the Chinese State from its 
earliest days ; it was as a defence against them that the " First 
Emperor" erected the Great Wall, with a length of "ten 
thousand /i" as Chinese hyperbole unblushingly states — 
its real length is fifteen hmidred miles. This defence could, 
however, merely mitigate, not avert, the evil; only constant 
effort, constant fighting, could prevent the Mongol hc^des 
from ovemmnmg the country. 

Beyond the Jade Pass in Eansu, through which the 
soldiers marched, lay the desert and the steppes stretching 
to the very "Edge of Heaven," and on this "edge" stood 
the "Heaven-high Hills"; while, on the way, surrounded 
by miles of sand, lay the Ch'ing Hai Lake (Green, or Inland, 
Sea), a dreary region at best, and peopled by the ghosts of 
countless soldiers who had fallen in battle on the "Yellow 
Sand Fields." 

In addition to these backgrounds of reality, that of the 
Fertile Empire and that of the Barren Waste, there was 
another — that of the "Western Paradise" inhabited by 
the Hsi Wang Mu (Western Empress Mother) and those 
countless beings who, after a life in this world, had at* 
tained Immortality and dwelt among the Hsien, super- 
natural creatures living in this region of perfect happiness 
supposed to lie among the K'un Lun Mountains in Central 
Asia. From the spontaneous manner in which they con- 
stantly refer to it, and from the vividness of the pictures 

xxix 



INTRODUCTION . 

suggested by their references to it, one can almost question 
whether this Fairy World, the World of Imagination, with 
its inhabitants, were not as real to the writers of the early 
days as was the World of Actuality. Thus the topography 
of Chinese poetry may be said to fall into three main divi- 
sions, and allusions are made to 

1. The beautiful scenes in the Eighteen Provinces. 

2. The desolate region beyond the Jade Pass. 

3. The glorious "Western Paradise." 

Ideals determine government, and government deter- 
mines social life, and social life, with all that the term con- 
notes, is the essence of every literature. 

The theory upon which the Chinese State was estab- 
lished is exceedingly interesting, and although the ideal was 
seldom reached, the system proved enduring and brought 
happiness to the people who lived under it. 

The Emperor was regarded as the Son of the Celestial 
Ruler, as Father of his people, and was supposed to direct 
his Empire as a father should direct his children, never by 
the strong arm of force, but by loving precept and example. 
In theory, he held office only so long as peace and pros- 
perity lasted, this beneficent state of things being con- 
sidered a proof that the ruler's actions were in accordance 
with the decree of Heaven. Rebellion and disorder were an 
equal proof that the Son of Heaven had failed in his great 

XXX 



INTRODUCTION 

mission; and, if wide-spread discontent continued, it was 
his duty to abdicate. The "divine right of kings" has 
never existed in China; its place has been taken by the 
people's right to rebellion. 

This system created a very real democracy, which so 
struck the Dutchman, Van Braam, when he conducted a 
commercial embassy to the Court of Ch'ien Lung in 1794, 
that he dedicated his account of the embassy to "His Ex- 
cellency George Washington, President of the United 
States," in the following remarkable manner: 
Sir, 

Travels among the most ancient people which now inhabits 
' this globe, and which owes its long existence to the system which 
makes its chief the Fatherof the National Family, cannot appear 
mider better auspices than those of the Great Man who was 
elected, by the universal suffrage of a new nation, to preside at 
the conquest of liberty, and in the establishment of a government 
in which everything bespeaks the love of the First Magistrate for 
the people. Permit me thus to address the homage of my venera- 
tion to the virtues, which in your Excellency, afford so striking a 
resemblance between Asia, and America. I cannot shew myself 
more worthy of the title of Citizen of the United States, which is 
become my adopted country, than by paying a just tribute tx) the 
Chief, whose principles and sentiments, are calculated to procure 
them a duration equal to that of the Chinese Empire. • 

The semi-divine person of the Emperor was abo re- 
garded as the "Smi" of the Empire, whose light should 
shine on high and low alike. His intelligence was compared 
to the penetrating rays of the smi, while that of the Em- 
press found its counterpart in the soft, suffusing brilliance 

xxxi 



INTRODUCTION 

of the moon. In reading Chinese poetry, it is important to 
keep these similes in mind, as the poets constantly employ 
them; evil counsellors, for instance, are often referred to as 
"clouds which obscure the sun." 

The Son of Heaven was assisted in the government of the 
country by a large body of officials, drawn from all classes 
of the people. How these officials were chosen, and what 
were their functions, will be stated presently. At the mo- 
ment, we must take a cursory glance at Chinese history, 
since it is an ever-present subject of allusion in poetry. 

Two favourite, and probably mythical, heroes, the Em- 
perors Yao and Shun, who are supposed to have lived in the 
semi-legendary period two or three thousand years before 
the birth of Christ, have been held up ever since as shining 
examples of perfection. Shun chose as his successor a man 
who had shown such great engineering talent in draining 
the country, always in danger of floods from the swollen 
rivers, that the Chinese still say: "Without Yii, we should 
all have been fishes." Yii founded the first hereditary 
dynasty, called the Hsia Dynasty, and, since then, every 
time the family of the Emperor has changed, a new dynasty 
has been inaugurated, the name being chosen by its first 
Emperor. With Yii's accession to the throne in 2205 u.c, 
authentic Chinese history begins. 

Several centuries later, when Yii's descendants had 
deteriorated and become effete, a virtuous noble named 

xxxii 



INTRODUCTION 

T'ang organized the first of those rebellions against bad 
government so characteristic of Chinese history. He was 
successful, and in his "Announcement to the Ten Thou- 
sand Districts/' set forth what we should call his platform 
in these words: "The way of Heaven is to bless the good 
and punish the wicked. It sent down calamities upon the 
house of Hsia to make manifest its crimes. Therefore I, 
the little child, charged with the decree of Heaven and 
its bright terrors, did not dare forgive the criminal . . . 
It is given to me, the one man, to ensure harmony and 
tranquillity to your State and families; and now I know 
not whether I may not offend the Powers above and below. 
I am fearful and trembling lest I should fall into a deep 
abyss.'* The doctrine that Heaven sends calamity as a 
punishment for man's sin is referred to again and again in 
the ancient "Book of History" and "Book of Odes." It 
is a belief common to all primitive peoples, but in China 
it persisted until the present republic demolished the last 
of the long line of dynastic empires. 

T'ang made a great and wise ruler. The Dynasty of 
Shang, which he founded, lasted until 1122 b.c., and was 
succeeded by that of Chou, the longest in the annals of 
Chinese history — so long, indeed, that historians divide 
it into three distinct periods. The first of these, "The 
Rise," ran from 1122 B.C. to 770 B.C. ; the second, " The Age 
of Feudalism," endured until 500 B.C.; the third, "The 

xxxiii 



INTRODUCTION 

Age of the Seven States," until 255 b.c. Starting under 
wise rulers, it gradually sank through others less competent 
until by 770 B.C. it was little more than a name. During 
the "Age of Feudalism," the numerous States were con- 
stantly at war, but eventually the strongest of them united 
in a group called the " Seven Masculine Powers " under the 
shadowy suzerainty of Chou. Although, from the political 
point of view, this period was full of unrest and gloom, 
from the intellectual it was exceedingly brilliant and is 
known as the "Age of Philosophers." The most famous 
names among the many teachers of the time are those of 
Lao Tzti, the founder of Taoism, and Confucius. To these 
men, China owes the two great schools of thought upon 
which her social system rests. 

The "Age of the Seven States" (Masculine Powers) 
ended when Ch'in, one of their number, overcame and 
absorbed the rest. Its prince adopted the title of Shm 
Huang Ti, or " First Supreme Ruler," thus placing himself 
on an equality with Heaven. Is it to be wondered at that 
the scholars demurred? The Hterary class were in perpetual 
opposition to the Emperor, who finally lost patience with 
them altogether and decreed that all books relating to the 
past should be burnt, and that history should begin with 
him. This edict was executed with great severity, and 
many hundreds of the literati were buried alive. It is 
scarcely surprising, therefore, that the name of Shih Huang 

xxxiv 



INTRODUCTION 

Ti is execrated, even to-day, by a nation whose love for the 
written word amounts to veneration. 

Although he held learning of small account, this "'First 
Emperor," to give him his bombastic title, was an enthusi- 
astic promoter of public works, the most important of these 
being the Great Wall, which has served as an age-long 
bulwark against the nomadic tribes of Mongolia and Cen- 
tral Asia. These tribes were a terror to China for centuries. 
They were always raiding the border country, and threat- 
ening a descent on the fertile fields beyond the mountains. 
The history of China is one long struggle to keep from being 
overrun by these tribes. There is an exact analogy to this 
state of affairs in the case of Roman Britain, and the per- 
petual vigilance it was obliged to exercise to keep out the 
Kcts. 

Shih Huang Ti based his power on fear, and it is a curious 
commentary upon the fact that the Ch'in Dynasty came to 
an end in 206 B.C., shortly after his death, and only a scant 
half-century after he had founded it. 

A few years of struggle, during which no Son of Heaven 
occupied the Dragon Throne, succeeded the fall of the 
Ch'in Dynasty; then a certain Liu Pang, an inconsiderable 
town officer, proved strong enough to seize what was no 
one's possession and made himseK Emperor, thereby found- 
ing the Han Dynasty. 

The Han is one of the most famous dynasties in Chinese 

XXXV 



INTRODUCTION 

history. An extraordinary revival of learning took place 
under the successive Emperors of Han. The greatest of 
them, Wu Ti (140-87 B.C.), is frequently mentioned by the 
poets. Learning always follows trade, as has often been 
demonstrated. During the Han Dynasty, which lasted until 
A.D. 221, intercourse with all the countries of the Near 
East became more general than ever before, and innumer- 
able caravans wended their slow way across the trade 
routes of Central Asia. Expeditions against the harassing 
barbarians were undertaken, and for a time their power 
was scotched. It was under the Han that Buddhism was 
introduced from India, but deeply as this has influenced 
the life and thought of the Middle Kingdom, I am inclined 
to think that the importance of this influence has been 
exaggerated. 

This period, and those immediately preceding it, form 
the poetic background of China. The ancient States, con- 
stantly referred to in the poems, do not correspond to the 
modem provinces. In order, therefore, to make their geo- 
graphical positions clear, a map has been appended to this 
volume in which the modem names of the provinces and 
cities are printed in black ink and the ancient names in red. 
As these States did not all exist at the same moment,, it is 
impossible to define their exact boundaries, but how 
strongly they were impressed upon the popular mind can 
be seen by the fact that, although they were merged into 

xxxvi 



INTRODUCTION 

the Chinese Empire during the reign of Shih Huang Ti» 
literature continued to speak of them by their old names 
and, even to-day, writers often refer to them as though they 
were still separate entities. There were many States, but 
only those are given in the map which are alluded to in the 
poems published in this book. The names of a few of the 
old cities are also given, such as Chin Ling, the ''Golden 
Mound" or "Sepulchre," and Ch'ang An, "Eternal 
Peace," for so many centuries the capital. Its present name 
is Hsi An-fu, and it was here that the Manchu Court took 
refuge during the Boxer madness of 1900. 

Little more of Chinese history need be told. Following 
the Han, several dynasties held sway; there were divisions 
between the North and South and much shifting of power. 
At length, in a.d. 618, Li Shih-min established the T'ang 
Dynasty by placing his father on the throne, and the T'ang 
brought law and order to the suffering country. 

This period is often called the Golden Age of Chinese 
Learning. The literary examinations introduced under the 
Han were perfected, poets and painters were encouraged, 
and strangers flocked to the Court at Ch'ang An. The reign 
of Ming Huang (a.d. 712-756), the "Brilliant Emperor," 
was the culmination of this remarkable era. China's three 
greatest poets, Li T'ai-po, Tu Fu, and Po Chii-i, all lived 
during his long reign of forty-five years. Auspiciously as 
this reign had begun, however, it ended sadly. The Em- 

xxxvii 



INTRODUCTION 

peror, more amiable than perspicacious, fell into the toils 
of his favourite concubine, the lovely Yang Kuei-fei, to 
whom he was slavishly devoted. The account of their love 
story — a theme celebrated by poets, painters, and play- 
wrights — will be found in the note to "Songs to the 
Peonies." A rebellion which broke out was crushed, but 
the soldiers refused to defend the cause of the Emperor 
until he had issued an order for the execution of Yang 
Kuei-fei, whom they believed to be responsible for the 
trouble. Broken-hearted, the Emperor complied, but from 
this date the glory of the dynasty was dimmed. Through- 
out its waning years, the shadow of the dreaded Tartars 
grew blacker and blacker, and finally, in a.d. 907, the T'ang 
Dynasty fell. 

Later history need not concern us here, since most of the 
poems in this book were written during the T'ang period. 
Though these poems deal largely with what I have caDed 
the historical background, they deal still more largely with 
the social background and it is,, above all, this social back- 
ground which must be understood. 

If the Emperor were the "Son of Heaven," he adminis- 
tered his Empire with the help of very human persons, the 
various ofiicials, and these ofiicials owed their positions, 
great and small, partly to the Emperor's attitude, it is true, 
but in far greater degree to their prowess in the literary 
examinations. An official of the first rank might owe his 

xxxviii 



INTRODUCTION 

preferment to the Emperor's beneficence; but to reach an 
altitude where this beneficence could operate, he had to 
climb through all the lower grades, and this could only be 
done by successfully passing all the examinations, one after 
the other. The curious thing is that these examinations 
were purely literary. They consisted not only in knowing 
thoroughly the classics of the past, but in being able to 
recite long passages from them by heart, and with this was 
included the abiUty to write one's self, not merely in prose, 
but in poetry. Every one in ofiice had to be, perforce, a 
poet. No one could hope to be the mayor of a town or the 
governor of a province unless he had attained a high pro- 
ficiency in the art of poetry. This is brought strikingly 
home to us by the fact that one of the chief pastimes of 
educated men was to meet together for the purpose of 
playing various games all of which turned on the writing 
of verse. 

The examinations which brought about this strange state 
of things were four. The first, which conferred the degree of 
Hsiu Ts'aiy "Flowering Talent," could be competed for 
only by those who had already passed two minor examina- 
tions, one in their district, and one in the department in 
which this district was situated. The Hsiu Ts'ai examina- 
tions were held twice every three years in the provincial 
capitals. There were various grades of the "Flowering 
Talent" degree, which is often translated as Bachelor of 

xxxix 



INTRODUCTION 

Arts, some of which could be bestowed through favour or 
acquired by purchase. The holders of it were entitled to 
wear a dress of blue silk, and in Chinese novels the hero is 
often spoken of as wearing this colour, by which readers are 
to understand that he is a clever young man already on the 
way to preferment. 

The second degree, that of Ck'H Jin, "Promoted Man," 
was obtained by passing the examinations which took place 
every third year in all the provincial capitals simultane- 
ously. This degree enabled its recipients to hold office, but 
positions were not always to hand, and frequently "Pro- 
moted Men" had to wait long before being appointed to a 
post; also, the offices open to them were of the lesser grades, 
those who aspired to a higher rank had a farther road to 
travel. The dress which went with this degree was also of 
silk, but of a darker shade than that worn by " bachelors." 

The third examination for the Chin Shih, or "Entered 
Scholar," degree was also held triennially, but at the na- 
tional capital, and only those among the Ch'ii Jtn who had 
not already taken office were eligible. The men so fortu- 
nate as to pass were allowed to place a tablet over the doors 
of their houses, and their particular dress was of violet silk. 

The fourth, which really conferred an office rather than 
a degree, was bestowed on men who competed in a special 
examination held once in three years in the Emperor's 
Palace. Those who were successful in this last examination 

xl 



INTRODUCTION 

became automatically Han Lirij or members of the Im- 
perial Academy, which, in the picturesque phraseology of 
China, was called the "Forest of Pencils." A member of 
the Academy held his position, a salaried one, for Ufe, and 
the highest officials of the Empire were chosen from these 
Academicians. 

This elaboration of degrees was only arrived at gradually. 
During the T'ang Dynasty, all the examinations were held 
at Ch'ang An. These four degrees of learning have often 
been translated as Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Doctor 
of Literature, and Academician. The analogy is so far from 
close, however, that most modem sinologues prefer to 
render them indiscriminately, according to context, -as 
student, scholar, and official. 

By means of this remarkable system, which threw open 
the road to advancement to every man in the country cap- 
able of availing himself of it, new blood was continually 
brought to the top, as all who passed the various degrees 
became officials, expectant or in being, and of higher or 
lower grade according to the Chinese measure of ability. 
Military degrees corresponding to the civil were given; but, 
as these called for merely physical display, they were not 
highly esteemed. 

Since only a few of the candidates for office passed the 
examinations successfully, a small army of highly educated 
men was dispersed throughout the country every three 

xli 



INTRODUCTION 

years. In the towns and villages they were regarded with 
the reverence universally paid to learning by the Chinese, 
and many became teachers to the rising generation in whom 
they cultivated a great respect for literature in general and 
poetry in particular. 

The holders of degrees, on the other hand, entered at once 
upon a career as administrators. Prevented by an inex- 
orable law — a law designed to make nepotism impossible — 
from holding office in their own province, they were con- 
stantly shifted from one part of the country to another, and 
this is a chief reason for the many poems of farewell that 
were written. The great desire of all officials was to remain 
at, or near, the Court, where the most brilliant brains of 
the Empire were assembled. As may be easily imagined, 
the intrigues and machinations employed to attain this end 
were many, with the result that deserving men often found 
themselves banished to posts on the desolate outskirts of 
the country where, far from congenial intercourse, they 
suffered a mental exile of the most complete description. 
Innumerable poems dealing with this sad state are found in 
all Chinese anthologies. 

There were nine ranks of nobility. The higher officials 
took the rank of their various and succeeding offices, others 
were ennobled for signal services performed. These titles 
were not hereditary in the ordinary sense, but backwards, 
if I can so express it. The dead ancestors of a nobleman 

xlii 



INTRODUCTION 

were accorded his rank, whatever had been theirs in life, 
but his sons and their descendants had only such titles as 
they themselves might earn. 

The desire to bask in the rays of the Imperial Sun was 
shared by ambitious fathers who longed to have their 
daughters appear before the Elmperor, and possibly make 
the fortune of the family by captivating the Imperial glance. 
This led to the most beautiful and talented young girls 
being sent to the Palace, where they often lived and died 
without ever being summoned before the Son of Heaven. 
Although numberless tragic poems have been written by 
these unfortunate ladies, many charming romances did 
actually take place, made possible by the custom of period- 
ically dispersing the superfluous Palace women and marry- 
ing them to suitable husbands. 

In striking contrast to the unfortunates who dragged out 
a purposeless life of idleness, was the lot of the beauty who 
had the good fortune to capture the Imperial fancy, and 
who, through her influence over the Dragon Throne, virtu- 
ally ruled the Middle Kingdom. No extravagancies were 
too great for these exquisite creatures, and many dynasties 
have fallen through popular revolt against the excesses of 
Imperial concubines. 

It would be quite erroneous to suppose, however, that 
the Emperor's life was entirely given up to pleasure and 
gaiety, or that it was chiefly passed in the beautiful seclu- 

xliii 



INTRODUCTION 

sion of the Imperial gardens. The poems, it is true, gener- 
ally allude to these moments, but the cares of state were 
many, and every day, at sunrise, officials assembled in the 
Audience Hall to make their reports to the Emperor. 
Moreover, Court ceremonials were extremely solemn occa- 
sions, carried out with the utmost dignity. 

As life at Court centred about the persons of the Em- 
peror and Empress, so Ufe inuthe homes of the people cen- 
tred about the elders of the family. The men of wealthy 
families were usually of official rank, and led a life in touch 
with the outer world, a life of social intercourse with other 
men in which friendship played an all-engrossing part. 
This characteristic of Chinese life is one of the most striking 
features of the poetic background. Love poems from men 
to women are so rare as to be almost non-existent 
(striking exceptions do occur, however, several of which 
are translated here), but poems of grief written at parting 
from "the man one loves" are innumerable, and to sit 
with one's firiends, drinking wine and reciting verses, mak- 
ing music or playing chess, were favourite amusements 
throughout the T'ang period. 

Wine-drinking was general, no pleasure gathering being 
complete without it. The wine of China was usually made 
from fermented grains, but wines from grapes, plums, pears, 
and other fruits were also manufactured. It was carefully 
heated and served in tall flagons somewhat resembling our 

xliv 



INTRODUCTION 

coffee-pots, and was dnink out of tiny little cups no bigger 
than liqueur glasses. These cups, which were never of 
glass, were made of various metals, of lacquered or carved 
wood, of semi-precious stones such as jade, or agate, or 
camelian; porcelain, the usual material for wine-cups to- 
day, not having yet been invented. Custom demanded 
that each thimbleful be tossed off at a gulp, and many were 
consumed before a feeling of exhilaration could be experi- 
enced. That there was a good deal of real drunkenness, we 
cannot doubt, but not to the extent that is generally sup- 
posed. From the character of the men and the lives they 
led, it is fairly clear that most of the drinking kept within 
reasonable bounds. Unfortunately, in translation, the 
quantity imbibed at these wine-parties' becomes greatly 
exaggerated. That wine was drunk, not merely for its 
taste, but as a heightener of sensation, is evident; but the 
"three hundred cups" so often mentioned bear no such 
fflgnificance as might at first appear when the size of the 
cups is taken into account. Undoubtedly, also, we must 
regard this exact number as a genial hyperbole. 

If husbands and sons could enjoy the excitement of 
travel, the spur of famous scenery, the gaieties of Court, 
and the pleasures of social intercourse, wives and daughters 
were obUged to find their occupations within the Kuei or 
** Women's Apartments," which included the gardens set 
apart for their use. The ruling spirit of the Kuei was the 

xlv 



. ruS 



INTRODUCTION 

mother-in-law; and the wife of the master of the house, 
although she was the mother of his sons and the director 
of the daughters-in-law, did not reach the fulness of her 
power until her husband's mother had died. 

The chief duty of a young wife was attendance upon her 
mother-in-law. With the first grey streak of daylight, she 
rose from her immense lacquer bed, so large as to be almost 
an anteroom, and, having dressed, took the old lady her 
tea. She then returned to her own apartment to breakfast 
with her husband and await the summons to attend her 
mother-in-laW's toilet, a most solemn function, and the 
breakfast which followed. These duties accomplished, she 
was free to occupy herself as she pleased. Calligraphy, 
painting, writing poems and essays, were popular pursuits, 
and many hours were spent at the embroidery frame or in 
making music. 

Chinese poetry is full of references to the toilet, to the 
intricate hair-dressing, the "moth-antennse eyebrows," the 
painting of faces, and all this was done in front of a mirror 
standing on a little rack placed on the toilet-table. A lady, 
writing to her absent husband, mourns that she has no 
heart to "make the cloud head-dress," or writes, "looking 
down upon my mirror m order to apply the powder and 
paint, I desire to keep back the tears. I fear that the people 
in the house will know my grief. I am ashamed." 

In spite of the fact that they had never laid eyes on the 

xlvi 



INTRODUCTION 

men they were to marry before the wedding-day, these 
young women seem to have depended upon the companion- 
ship of their husbands to a most touching extent. The 
occupations of the day were carried on in the Kuei; but, 
when evening came, the husband and wife often read and 
studied the classics together. A line from a well-known 
poem says, "The red sleeve replenishes the incense, at 
night, studying books," and the picture it calls up is that 
of a young man and woman in the typical surroundings of 
a Chinese home of the educated class. Red was the colour 
worn by very young women, whether married or not; as the 
years advanced, this was changed for soft blues and mauves, 
and later still for blacks, greys, or dull greens. A line such 
as "tears soak my dress of coarse, red silk" instantly sug- 
gests a young woman in deep grief. 

The children studied every day with teachers; the sons 
and daughters of old servants who had, according to cus- 
tom, taken the family surname, receiving the same advan- 
tages as those of the master. These last were, in all respects, 
brought up as children of the house, the only distinction 
being that whereas the master's own children sat "above" 
the table, facing South, the children of the servants sat 
"below," facing North. A more forcible reminder of their 
real status appeared later in Ufe, since they were debarred 
from competing in the official examinations unless they 
left the household in which they had grown up and re- 

xlvii 



INTRODUCTION 

linquished the family surname taken by their fathen 
A curious habit among families, which extended even t 
groups of firiends, was the designation by numbers accorc 
ing to age, a man being familiarly known as Yung Seve 
or T'sui Fifteen. It will be noticed that such designatioi] 
often occur in the poems. 

Only four classes of persons were recognized as being c 
importance to society and these were rated in the followin 
order: scholars, agriculturalists, labourers, and traders - 
officials, of course, coming under the generic name c 
scholars. Soldiers, actors, barbers, etc., were considered 
lower order of beings entirely and, as such, properly d( 
spised. 

China, essentially an agricultural country, was econom: 
cally self-sufficient, producing everything needed by he 
population. The agriculturalist was, therefore, the ver 
backbone of the state. 

In rendering Chinese poetry, the translator must cor 

stantly keep in mind the fact that the architectural bad 

ground differs from that of every other country, and tha 

our language does not possess terms which adequatel 

i describe it. 

\ Apart from the humble cottages of the very poor, a 

[ dwelling-houses, or chiuj are constructed on the sam 

general plan. They consist of a series of one-story builc 
ings divided by courtyards, which, in the houses of th 

xlviii 



INTRODUCTION 

well-to-do, are connected by covered passages running 
along the sides of each court. A house is cut up into chierij 
or divisions, the number, within limits, being determined 
by the wealth and position of the owners. The homes 
of the people, both rich and poor, are arranged in three 
or five chien; official residences are of seven chien; Impe- 
rial palaces of nine. Each of these chien consists of several 
buildings, the number of which vary considerably, more 
buildings being added as the family grows by the marriage 
of the sons who, with their wives and children, are sup- 
posed to live in patriarchal fashion in their father's house. 
If ofiicials sometimes carried their families with them to 
the towns where they were stationed, there were other 
posts so distant or so desolate as to make it practically 
impossible to take women to them. In these cases, the 
famiUes remained behind under the paternal roof. 

How a house was arranged can be seen in the plan at the 
end of this book. Doors lead to the garden from the study, 
the guest-room, and the Women's Apartments. These are 
made in an endless diversity of shapes and add greatly to 
the picturesqueness of house and grounds. Those through 
which a number of people are to pass to and fro are often 
large circles, while smaller and more intimate doors are cut 
to the outlines of fans, leaves, or flower vases. In addition 
to the doors, blank spaces of wall are often broken by 
openings at the height of a window, such openings being 

xlix 



m' 



INTRODUCTION 

most fantastic and filled with intricately designed lattice- 
work. 

I have already spoken of the Kuei, or Women's Apart- 
ments. In poetry, this part of the chia is alluded to in a 
highly figm-ative manner. The windows are "gold" or 
"jade" windows; the door by which it is approached is the 
Lan Kueiy or "Orchid Door." Indeed, the sweet-scented 
little epidendrmn called by the Chinese, lan, is continually 
used to suggest the Kuei and its inmates. 

Besides the house proper, there are numerous structures 
erected in gardens, for the Chinese spend much of their 
time in their gardens. No nation is more passionately fond 
of nature, whether in its grander aspects, or in the charm- 
ing arrangements of potted flowers which take the place of 
our borders in their pleasure grounds. Among these put- 
door buildings none is more difficult to describe than the 
tou, since we have nothing which exactly corresponds to it. 
Lous appear again and again in Chinese poetry, but just 
what to call them in English is a puzzle. They are neither 
summer-houses, nor pavilions, nor cupolas, but a little of 
all three. Always of more than one story, they are em- 
ployed for differing purposes; for instance, the fo lou on the 
plan is an upper chamber where Buddhist images are kept. 
The lou generally referred to in poetry, however, is really a 
"pleasure-house-in-the-air," used as the Italians use their 
belvederes. Here the inmates of the house sit and look 

1 



INTRODUCTION 

down upon the garden or over the surrounding country, or 
watch "the sun disappear in the long grass at the edge of 
the horizon" or "the moon rise like a golden hook." 

Another erection foreign to Western architecture is the 
Vaiy or terrace. In early days, there were many kinds of 
faU ranging from the small, square, uncovered stage still 
seen in private gardens and called yixeh t'aU "moon ter- 
race," to immense structures like high, long, open plat- 
forms, built by Emperors and officials for various reasons. 
Many of these last were famous ; I have given the histories 
of several of them in the notes illustrating the poems, at 
the end of the book. 

It will be observed that I have said practically nothing 
about religion. The reason is partly that the three principal 
religions practised by the Chinese are either so well known, 
as Buddhism, for example, or so difficult to describe, as 
Taoism and the ancient religion of China now merged in 
the teachings of Confucius; partly that none of them could 
be profitably compressed into the scope of this introduction ; 
but chiefly because the subject of religion, in the poems 
here translated, is generally referred to in its superstitious 
aspects alone. The superstitions which have grown up 
about Taoism particularly are inniunerable. I have dealt 
with a number of these in the notes to the poems in which 
they appear. Certain supernatural personages, without a 



li 



INTRODUCTION 

knowledge of whom much of the poetry would be unintel- 
ligible, I have set down in the following list: 

Hsien. Immortals who live in the Taoist Para- 

dises. Human beings may attain "" Hsien- 
shipf'" or Immortality, by living a life of 
contemplation in the hills. In translat- 
ing the term, we have used the word 
"Immortals." 

ShSn. Beneficent beings who inhabit the higher 

regions. They are kept extremely busy 
attending to their duties as tutelary 
deities of the roads, hills, rivers, etc., 
and it is also their function to intervene 
and rescue deserving people from the 
attacks of their enemies. 

Euei. A proportion of the souls of the de- 

parted who inhabit the "World of 
Shades," a region resembling this world, 
which is the "World of Light," in every 
particular, with the important exception 
that it has no sunshine. Kindly kuei are 
known, but the influence generally sug- 
gested is an evil one. They may only 
return to the World of Light between 
sunset and sunrise, except upon the fifth 
lii 



INTRODUCTION 

day of the Fifth Month (June), when 
they are free to come during the time 
known as the " hour of the horse," from 
eleven a.m. to one p.m. 

Yao Euai. A class of fierce demons who live in the 

wild regions of the Southwest and de- 
light in eating the flesh of human beings. 

There are also supernatural creatures whose names carry 
a symboUcal meaning. A few of them are: 

Ch'i lin. A composite animal, somewhat resem- 

bling the fabulous unicorn, whose arrival 
is a good omen. He appears when sages 
are bom. 

Dragon. A symbol of the forces of Heaven, also 

the emblem of Imperial power. Contin- 
ually referred to in poetry as the steed 
which transports a philosopher who has 
attained Immortality to his home in the 
Western Paradise. 

FSng Huang. A glorious bird, symbol of the Em- 
press, therefore often associated with the 
dragon. The conception of this bird is 
probably based on the Argus pheasant. 
It is described as possessing every grace 
liii 



EVTRODUCTION 

and beauty. A Chinese author, quoted, 
by F. W- WilUams in "The Middle 
Kingdom/' writes: "It resembles a wild 
swan before and a unicorn behind; it has 
the throat of a swallow, the bill of a cock, 
the neck of a snake, the tail of a fish, the 
forehead of a crane, the crown of a 
mandarin drake, the stripes of a dragon, 
and the vaulted back of a tortoise. The 
feathers have five colours which are 
named after the five cardinal virtues, 
and it is five cubits in height; the tail is 
graduated like the pipes of a gourd- 
crgan, and its song resembles the music 
of the instrument, having five modula- 
tions." Properly speaking, the female 
is Fing^ the male Huang, but the two 
words are usually given in combination 
to denote the species. Some one, prob- 
ably in desperation, once translated the 
combined words as ''phoenix," and this 
term has been employed ever since. It 
conveys, however, an entirely wrong 
impression of the creature. To Western 
readers, the word "phoenix" suggests a 
bird which, being consumed by fire, 
liv 



INTRODUCTION 

rises in a new birth from its own ashes. 
The Fing Huang has no such power, it 
is no symbol of hope or resurrection, 
but suggests friendship and affection 
of all sorts. Miss Lowell and I have 
translated the name as "crested love- 
pheasant," which seems to us to convey 
a better idea of the beautiful F^ng 
Huang, the bird which brings happiness. 

Luan. A supernatural bird sometimes con^ 

fused with the above. It is a sacred 
creature, connected with fire, and a 
symbol of love and passion, of the rela- 
tion between men and women. 

Chien. The "paired-wings bird," described in 

Chinese books as having but one ¥mig 
and one eye, for which reason two must 
unite for either of them to fly. It is often 
referred to as suggesting undying affec- 
tion. 

Real birds and animals also have symbolical attributes. 
I give only three: 

€rane. Represents longevity, and is employed, 

as is the dragon, to transport those who 
Iv 



EVTRODUCTION 

have attained to Immortality to the 
Heavens. 

Yuan Yang. The exquisite little mandarin ducks, an 

unvarying symbol of conjugal fidelity. 
Li T'ai-po often alludes to them and 
declares that, rather than be separated, 
they would "prefer to die ten thousand 
deaths, and have their gauze-like wings 
torn to fragments." 

Wnd Greese. Symbols of direct purpose, their flight 

being always in a straight line. As they 
follow the sun's course, allusions to 
their departure suggest Spring, to their 
arrival, Autumn. 

A complete list of the trees and plants endowed with 

symbolical meanings would be almost endless. Those most 
commonly employed in poetry in a suggestive sense are: 

Ch'ang P'u. A plant growing in the Taoist Paradise 

and much admired by the Immortals, 
who are the only beings able to see its 
purple blossoms. On earth, it is known 
as the sweet flag, and has the peculiarity 
of never blossoming. It is hung on the 
lintels of doors on the fifth day of the 
Ivi 



i .^.sOt 



INTRODUCTION 



Peony. 
Lotus. 

Plum-blossom. 



, Fifth Month to ward off the evfl influ- 
ences which may be brought by the kuei 
on their return to this world during the 
"hour of the horse." 

Riches and prosperity. 

Purity. Although it rises from the mud, 
it is bright and spotless. 

Literally "the first," it being the first 
of the "hundred flowers" to open. It 
suggests the beginnings of things, and is 
also one of the "three firiends" who do 
not fear the Winter cold, the other two 
being the pine and the bamboo. 

A smaU epidendrum, translated in this 
book as "spear-orchid." It is a symbol 
for noble men and beautiful, refined 
women. Confucius compared the Chiin 
TzA, Princely or Superior Man, to this 
little orchid with its delightful scent. 
In poetry, it is also used in reference to 
the Women's Apartments and every- 
thing connected with them, suggesting, 
as it does, the extreme of refinement. 

Chrysanthemum. Fidelity and constancy. Inspite of frost, 

its flowers continue to bloom. 
Ivii 



Lan. 



INTRODUCTION 

ling Chih. Longevity. This fungus, which grows 

at the roots of trees, is very durable 
when dried. 

Pme. Longevity, immutability, steadfastness. 

Bamboo. This plant has as many virtues as it has 

uses, the principal ones are modesty, 
protection from defilement, unchange- 
ableness. 

Wu-t'ong. A tree whose botanical name is sterculia 

platanifolia. Its only English name 
seems to be "umbrella-tree," which has 
proved so unattractive in its context in 
the poems that we have left it untrans- 
lated. It is a symbol for integrity, high 
principles, great sensibility. When "Au- 
tumn stands," on August seventh, 
although it is still to all intents and 
purposes Smnmer, the wu-t'ung tree 
drops one leaf . Its wood, which is white, 
easy to cut, and very light, is the only 
kind suitable for making that intimate 
instrument which quickly betrays the 
least emotion of the person playing upon 
it — the eft' in, or table-lute. 
Iviii 



INTRODUCTION 



Wfflow. 



Peach-blodsom. 



Peach-tree. 



Mulberry. 



Plantain. 



A prostitute, or any very frivolous per- 
son. Concubines writing to their lords 
often refer to themselves under this 
figure, in the same spirit of self-deprecia- 
tion which prompts them to employ the 
euphemism, "Unworthy One," instead 
of the personal pronoun. Because of its 
lightness and pliability, it conveys also 
the idea of extreme vitality. 

Beautiful women and ill-success in life. 
The first suggestion, on account of the 
exquisite colour of the flower ; the second, 
because of its perishability. 

Longevity. This fruit is supposed to 
ripen once every three thousand years 
on the trees of Paradise, and those who 
eat of this celestial species never die. 

Utility. Also suggests a peaceful hamlet. 
Its wood is used in the making of bows 
and the kind of temple-drums called 
mo yii — wooden fish. Its leaves feed 
the silk-worms. 

Sadness and grief. It is symbolical of a 
heart which is not "flat" or "level," as 
lix 



INTRODUCTION 

the Chinese say, not open or care-free, 
but of one which is "tightly rolled." 
The sound of rain on its leaves is very 
mournful, therefore an allusion to the 
plantain always means sorrow. Planted 
outside windows already glazed with 
silk, its heavy green leaves soften the 
glaring light of Smnmer, and it is often 
used for this purpose. 

Nothing has been more of a stumbling-block to trans- 
lators than the fact that the Chinese year — which is 
strictly lunar, with an intercalary month added at certain 
intervals — begins a month later than ours; or, to be more 
exact, it is calculated from the jBrst new moon after the sun 
enters Aquarius, which brings the New Year at varying 
times from the end of January to the middle of February. 
For translation purposes, however, it is safe to count the 
Chinese months as always one later by our calendar than 
the number given would seem to imply. By this calculation 
the "First Month" is February, and so on throughout the 
year. 

The day is divided into twelve periods of two hours each 
beginning at eleven p.m. and each of these periods is called 
by the name of an animal — horse, deer, snake, bat, etc. 
As these names are not duplicated, the use of them tells at 

Ix 



EVTRODUCTION 

once whether the hour is day or night. Ancient China's 
method of telling time was by means of slow and evenly 
burning sticks made of a composition of clay and sawdust, 
or by the clepsydra, or water-clock. Water-clocks are 
mentioned several times in these poems. 

So much for what I have called the backgrounds of 
Chinese poetry. I must now speak of that poetry itself, 
and of Miss Lowell's and my method of translating it. 

Chinese prosody is a very difiQcult thing for an Occidental 
to understand. Chinese is a monosyllabic language, and 
this reduces the word-sounds so considerably that speech 
would be almost impossible were it not for the invention of 
tones by which the same sound can be made to do the duty 
of four in the Mandarin dialect, five in the Nankingese, 
eight in the Cantonese, etc., a different tone inflection 
totally changing the meaning of a word. Only two chief 
tones are used in poetry, the "level" and the "oblique," 
but the oblique tone is subdivided into three, which makes 
four different inflections possible to every sound. Of course, 
like English and other languages, the same word may have 
several meanings, and in Chinese these meanings are be- 
wilderingly many; the only possible way of determining 
which one is correct is by its context. These tones consti- 
tute, at the outset, the principal difference which divides 
the technique of Chinese poetry from our own. Another is 
to be found in the fact that nothing approaching our metri- 

Ixi 



INTRODUCTION 

cal foot is possible in a tongue which knows only single syl- 
lables. Rhyme does exist, but there are only a little over a 
hundred rhymes, as tone inflection does not change a word 
in that particular. Such a paucity of rhyme would seriously 
affect the richness of any poetry, if again the Chinese had 
not overcome this lingual defect by the employment of a 
juxtaposing pattern made up of their four poetic tones. And 
these tones come to the rescue once more when we consider 
the question of rhythm. Monosyllables in themselves 
always produce a staccato effect, which tends to make all 
rhythm composed of them monotonous, if, indeed, it does 
not destroy it altogether. The tones cause what I may call 
a psychological change in the time-length of these mono- 
syllables, which change not only makes true rhythm pos- 
sible, but allows marked varieties of the basic beat. 

One of the chief differences between poetry and prose is 
that poetry must have a more evident pattern. The pattern 
of Chinese poetry is formed out of three elements: line, 
rhyme, and tone. 

The Chinese attitude toward line is almost identical with 
that of the French. French prosody counts every syllable 
as a foot, and a line is made up of so many counted feet. If 
any of my readers has ever read French alexandrines 
aloud to a Frenchman, read them as we should read Eng- 
lish poetry, seeking to bring out the musical stress, he will 
remember the look of sad surprise which crept over his 

Ixii 



INTRODUCTION 

hearer's face. Not so was this verse constructed; not so is 
it to be read. The number of syllables to a line is counted, 
that is the secret of French classic poetry; the number of 
syllables is counted in Chinese. But — and we come to a 
divergence — this method of counting does, in French 
practice, often do away with the rhythm so delightful to 
an English ear; in Chinese, no such violence occurs, as 
each syllable is a word and no collection of such words can 
fall into a metric pulse as French words can, and, in their 
Chansons f are permitted to do. 

The Chinese line pattern is, then, one of counted words, 
and these counted words are never less than three, nor more 
than seven, in regular verse; irregularis a different matter, 
as I shall explain shortly. Five and seven word lines are 
cut by a caesura, which comes after the second word in a 
five-word line, and after the fourth in a seven-word line. 

Rhyme is used exactly as we use it, at the ends of lines. 
Internal rhyming is common, however, in a type of poem 
called a "/«," which I shall deal with when I come to the 
particular kinds of verse. 

Tone is everywhere, obviously, and is employed, not 
arbitrarily, but woven into a pattern of its own which 
again is in a more or less loose relation to rhyme. By itself, 
the tone-pattern alternates in a peculiar manner in each 
line, the last line of a stanza conforming to the order of 
tones in the first, the intervening lines varying methodic 

Ixiii 



* 



INTRODUCTION 

cally. I have before me a poem in which the tone-pattern 
is alike in lines one, four, and eight, of an eight-line stanza, 
as are lines two and six, and lines three and seven, while 
line five is the exact opposite of lines two and six. In the 
second stanza of the same poem, the pattern is kept, but 
adversely; the tones do not follow the same order, but 
conform in similarity of grouping. I use this example 
merely to show what is meant by tone-pattern. It will 
serve to illustrate how much diversity and richness this 
tone-chiming is capable of bringing to Chinese poetry. 

Words which rhyme must be in the same tone in regular 
verse, and unrhymed lines must end on an oblique tone if 
the rhyme-tone is level, and vice versa. The level tone is 
preferred for rhyme. 

In the early Chinese poetry, called Ku-shih (Old Poems), 
the tones were practically disregarded. But in the Lii-shih 
(Regulated Poems) the rules regarding them are very strict. 
The lii'Shih are supposed to date from the beginning of the 
T'ang Dynasty. A lii-shih poem proper should be of eight 
lines, though this is often extended to sixteen, but it 
must be in either the five-word line, or the seven-word line, 
metre. The poets of the T'ang Dynasty, however, were by 
no means the slaves of lii-^hih; they went their own way, 
as good poets always do, conforming when it pleased them 
and disregarding when they chose. It depended on the 
character of the poet. Tu Fu was renowned for his careful 

Ixiv 



INTRODUCTION 

versification; Li T'ai-po, on the other hand, not infre- 
quently rebelled and made his own rules. In his ** Drinking 
Song," which is in seven-word lines, he suddenly dashes in 
two three-word lines, a proceeding which must have been 
greatly upsetting to the purists. It is amusing to note that 
his "Taking Leave of Tu Fu" is in the strictest possible 
form, which is at once a tribute and a poking of fun at his 
great friend and contemporary. 

Regular poems of more than sixteen lines are called p'ai 
/u, and these may run to any length; Tu Fu carried them to 
forty, eighty, and even to two hundred lines. Another 
form, always translated as "short-stop,** cuts the eight- 
line poem in two. In theory, the short-stop holds the same 
relation to the eight-line poem that the Japanese hokku 
does to the tanka, although of course it preceded the hokku 
by many centuries. It is supposed to suggest rather than 
to state, being considered as an eight-line poem with its 
end in the air. In suggestion, however, the later Japanese 
form far outdoes it. 

So called "irregular verse" follows the writer's inclina- 
tion within the natural limits of all Chinese prosody. 

A tz& may be taken to mean a lyric, if we use that term, 
not in its dictionary sense, but as all modem poets employ 
it. It may vary its line length, but must keep the same 
variation in all the stanzas. 

Perhaps the most interesting form to modem students is 

Ixv 



INTRODUCTION 

the /u, in which the construction is afanost identical with 
that of "polyphonic prose." The lines are so irregular in 
length that the poem might be mistaken for prose, had we 
not a corresponding form to guide us. The rhymes appear 
when and where they will, in the middle of the lines or at 
the end, and sometimes there are two or more together. I 
have been told that Persia has, or had, an analogous form, 
and if so modem an invention as "polyphonic prose" de- 
rives, however unconsciously, from two such ancient coun- 
tries as China and Persia, the fact is, at least, interesting. 
The earliest examples of Chinese poetry which have 
come down to us are a collection of rhymed ballads in 
various metres, of which the most usual is four words to a 
line. They are simple, straightforward pieces, often of a 
strange poignance, and always reflecting the quiet, peace- 
ful habits of a people engaged in agriculture. The oldest 
were probably composed about 2000 B.C. and the others at 
varying times fipom then until the Sixth Century b.c., when 
Confucius gathered them into the volume known as the 
" Book of Odes." Two of these odes are translated in this 
book. The next epoch in the advance of poetry-making 
was introduced by Ch'ii Yiian (312-295 B.C.), a famous 
statesman and poet, who wrote an excitable, irregular style 
in which the primitive technical rules were disregarded, 
their place being taken by exigencies of emotion and idea. 
We are wont to regard a poetical technique determined by 

Ixvi 



INTRODUCTION 

feeling alone as a very modem innovation, and it is inter- 
esting to note that the method is, on the contrary, as old 
as the hills. These rhapsodical allegories culminated in a 
poem entitled "Li Sao," or " Falling into Trouble," which 
is one of the most famous of ancient Chinese poems. A fur- 
ther development took place under the Western Han (206 
B.C.-A.D. 25), when Su Wu invented the five-character 
poem, ku feng; these poems were in Old Style, but had five 
words to a line. It is during this same period that poems 
with seven words to a line appeared. Legend has it that 
they were first composed by the Emperor Wu of Han, and 
that he hit upon the form on an occasion when he and his 
Ministers were drinking wine and capping verses at a feast 
on the White Beam Terrace. Finally, under the Empress 
Wu Hou, early in the T'ang Dynasty, the lii-shih^ or 
'* poems according to law," became the standard. It will 
be seen that the lii-shih found the five and seven word 
lines already in being and had merely to standardize them. 
The important gift which the liz-shih brought to Chinese 
prosody was its insistence on tone. 

The great period of Chinese poetry was during the 
T'ang Dynasty. Then lived the three famous poets, Li 
T'ai-po, Tu Fu, and Po Chii-i. Space forbids me to give the 
biographies of all the poets whose work is included in this 
volume, but as Li T'ai-po and Tu Fu, between them, take 
up more than half the book, ^ short account of the princi- 

Ixvii 



JH 



INTRODUCTION 

pal events of their lives seems necessary. I shall take them 
in the order of the number of their poems printed in this 
collection, which also, as a matter of fact, happens to be 
chronological. 

I have already stated in the first part of this Introduction 
the reasons which determined me to give so large a space 
to Li T'ai-po. English writers on Chinese literature are 
fond of announcing that Li T'ai-po is Chma's greatest poet; 
the Chinese themselves, however, award this place to Tu 
Fu. We may put it that Li T'ai-po was the people's poet, 
and Tu Fu the poet of scholars. As Po Chii-i is represented 
here by only one poem, no account of his life has been 
given. A short biography of him may be found in Mr. 
Waley's "A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems." 

It is permitted to very few to live in the hearts of their 
countrymen as Li T'ai-po has Kved in the hearts of the 
Chinese. To-day, twelve hundred and twenty years after 
his birth, his memory and his fame are fresh, his poems are 
universally recited, his personality is familiar on the stage: 
in fact, to use the words of a Chinese scholar, " It may be 
said that there is no one in the People's Country who does 
not know the name of Li T'ai-po." Many legends are told of 
his birth, his life, his death, and he is now numbered among 
the Hsien (Inmaortals) who inhabit the Western Paradise. 

Li T'ai-po was born a.d. 701, of well-to-do parents named 
Li, who lived in the Village of the Green Lotus in Szechwan. 

bcviii 



INTRODUCTION 

He is reported to have been far more brilliant than ordinary 
children. When he was only five years old, he read books 
that other boys read at ten; at ten, he could recite the 
"Classics" aloud and had read the "Book of the Hundred 
Sages." Doubtless this precocity was due to the fact that 
his birth was presided over by the "Metal Star," which we 
know as Venus. His mother dreamt that she had conceived 
him under the influence of this luminary, and called him 
T'ai-po, " Great Whiteness," a popular name for the planet. 
In spite of his learning, he was no Shu Tai Tzii (Book 
Idiot) as the Chinese say, but, on the contrary, grew up a 
strong young fellow, impetuous to a fault, with a lively, 
enthusiastic nature. He was extremely fond of sword-play, 
and constantly made use of his skill in it to right the wrongs 
of his friends. However worthy his causes may have been, 
this propensity got him into a serious scrape. In the excite- 
ment of one of these encounters, he killed several people, 
and was forthwith obliged to fly from his native village. 
The situation was an awkward one, but the young man 
disguised himself as a servant and entered the employ of a 
minor official. This gentleman was possessed of literary 
ambitions and a somewhat halting talent; still we can 
hardly wonder that he was not pleased when his servant 
ended a poem in which he was hopelessly floundering 
with lines far better than he could make. After this, and 
one or two similar experiences, Li T'ai-po found it advisa- 

Ixix 



.w^ 



INTRODUCTION 

ble to relinquish his job and depart from his master's 
house. 

His next step was to join a scholar who disguised his real 
name under the pseudonym of "Stem Son of the Eist." 
The couple travelled together to the beautiful Min Moun- 
tains, where they Uved in retirement for five years as 
teacher and pupil. This period, passed in reading, writing, 
discussing Uterature, and soaking in the really marvellous 
scenery, greatly influenced the poet's future Ufe, and 
imbued him with that passionate love for nature so ap- 
parent in his work. 

At the age of twenty-five, he separated from his teacher 
and left the mountains, going home to his native village 
for a time. But the love of travel was inherent in him, 
nowhere could hold him for long, and he soon started off on 
a sight-seeing trip to all those places in the Empire famous 
for their beauty. This time he travelled as the position of 
his parents warranted, and even a little beyond it. He had 
a retinue of servants, and spent money lavishly. This 
open-handedness is one of the fine traits of his character. 
Needy scholars and men of talent never appealed to him in 
vain ; during a year at Yangchow, he is reported to have 
spent three hundred thousand ounces of silver in charity. 

From Yangchow he journeyed to the province of Hupeh 
("North of the Lake") where, in the district of the 
" Dreary Clouds," he stayed at the house of a family named 

Ixx 



INTRODUCTION 

Hsii, which visit resulted in his marriage with one of the 
daughters. Li T'ai-po lived in Hupeh for some years — he 
himself says three — then his hunger for travel reasserted 
itself and he was off again. After some years of wandering, 
while visiting a magistrate in Shantung, an incident oc- 
curred which had far-reaching consequences. A prisoner 
was about to be flogged. Li T'ai-po, who was passing, 
glanced at the man, and, happening to be possessed of a 
shrewd insight into character, realized at once that here 
was an unusual person. He secured the man's release, and 
twenty-five years later this action bore fruit as the sequel 
will show. The freed prisoner was Kuo Tzu-i, who became 
one of China's most powerful generals and the saviour of 
the T'ang Dynasty. 

It will be noticed that nothing has been said of the poet 
taking any examinations, and for the excellent reason that 
he never thought it worth while to present himself as a 
candidate. The simple fact appears to be that geniuses 
of ten do not seem to find necessary what other men con- 
sider of supreme importance. Presumably, also, he had no 
particular desire foranofiicial life. The gifts of Heaven go by 
favour and the gifts of man are strangely apt to do the same 
thing, in spite of the excellent rules devised to order them. 
Li T'ai-po's career owed nothing to either the lack of ofii- 
cial degrees or official interest. What he achieved, he owed 
to himself; what he failed in came from the same source. 

Ixxi 



INTRODUCTION 

About this time, the poet and a few congenial friends 
formed the coterie of "The Six Idlers of the Bamboo 
Brook." They retired to the Ch'u Lai Momitain and spent 
their time in drinking, reciting poems, writing beautiful 
characters, and playing on the table-lute. It must be ad- 
mitted that Li T'ai-po was an inveterate and inordinate 
drinker, and far more often than was wise in the state called 
by his countrymen "great drunk." To this propensity he 
was indebted for all his ill fortune, as it was to his poetic 
genius that he owed all his good. 

So the years passed until, when he was forty-two, he 
met the Taoist priest, Wu Yiin. They immediately became 
intimate, and on Wu Yiin's being called to the capital, Li 
T'ai-po accompanied him. Wu Yiin took occasion to tell 
the Emperor of his friend's extraordinary talent. The Em- 
peror was interested, the poet was sent for, and, intro- 
duced by Ho Chih-chang, was received by the Son of 
Heaven in the Golden Bells Hall. 

The native accounts of this meeting state that "in his 
discourses upon the affairs of the Empire, the words rushed 
from his mouth like a mountain torrent." Ming Huang, 
who was enchanted, ordered food to be brought and helped 
the poet himself. 

So Li T'ai-po became attached to the Court and was 
made an honorary member of the "Forest of Pencils." 
He was practically the Emperor's secretary and wrote the 

Ixxii 



INTRODUCTION^ 

Emperor's edicts, but this was by the way — his real duty 
was simply to write what he chose and when, and recite 
these poems at any moment that it pleased the Emperor 
to call upon him to do so. 

Li T'ai-po, with his love of wine and good-fellowship, 
was well suited for the life of the gay and dissipated Court 
of Ming Huang, then completely under the influence of 
the beautiful concubine, Yang Kuei-fei. Conspicuous 
among the Emperor's entourage was Ho Chih-chang, a 
famous statesman, poet, and calligraphist, who, on reading 
Li T'ai-po's poetry, is said to have sighed deeply and ex- 
claimed: "This is not the work of a human being, but of a 
Tsi Hsien (Banished Inunortal)." To understand fully 
the significance of this epithet, it must be realized that 
mortals who have already attained Immortality, but who 
have committed some fault, may be banished from Para- 
dise to expiate their sin on earth. 

For about two years, Li T'ai-po led the life of supreme 
favourite in the most brilliant Court in the world. The 
fact that when sent for to compose or recite verses he was 
not unapt to be drunk was of no particular importance 
since, after being suromarily revived with a dash of cold 
water, he could always write or chant with his accustomed 
verve and dexterity. His influence over the Emperor be- 
came so great that it roused the jealousy, and eventuaUy 
the hatred, of Kao Li-shih, the Chief Eunuch, who, until 

Ixxiii 



INTRODUCTION 

then, had virtually ruled his Imperial master. On one 
occasion, when Li T'ai-po was more than usually incapaci- 
tated, the Emperor ordered Kao to take off the poet's 
shoes. This was too much, and from that moment the 
eunuch's malignity became an active intriguing to bring 
about his rival's downfall. He found the opportunity he 
needed in the vanity of Yang Euei-fei. Persuading this 
lady that li T'ai-po's "Songs to the Peonies" contained a 
veiled insult directed at her, he enlisted her anger against 
the poet and so gained an important ally to his cause. On 
three separate occasions when Ming Huang wished to con- 
fer official rank upon the poet, Yang Euei-fei interfered and 
persuaded the Emperor to forego his intention. Li T'ai-po 
was of too independent a character, and too little of a 
courtier, to lift a finger to placate his enemies. But the 
situation became so acute that at last he begged leave to 
retire from the Court altogether. His request granted, he 
immediately formed a new group of seven congenial souls 
and with them departed once more to the mountains. This 
new association called itself "The Eight Immortals of the 
Wine-cup." 

Although Li T'ai-po had asked for his own dismissal, he 
had really been forced to ask it, and his banishment from 
the "Imperial Sun," with all that "Sun" implied, was a 
blow from which he never recovered. His later poems are 
full of more or less veiled allusions to his unhappy state. 

Ixxiv 



INTRODUCTION 

The next ten years were spent in his favourite occupation 
of travelling, especially in the provinces of Szechwan, 
Hunan, and Hupeh. 

Meanwhile, political conditions were growing steadily 
worse. Popular discontent at the excesses of Yang Kuei- 
fei and her sateUite An Lu-shan were increasing, and 
finally, in a.d. 755, rebellion broke out. I have dealt with 
this rebellion earlier in this Introduction, and a more de- 
tailed account is given in the Notes; I shall, therefore, do 
no more than mention it here. Sometime during the pre- 
ceding unrest, Li T'ai-po, weary of moving from place to 
place, had taken the position of adviser to Li Ling, Prince 
of Yung. In the wide-spread disorder caused by the rebel- 
lion, Li ling conceived the bold idea of establishing himself 
South of the Yangtze as Emperor on his own account. 
Pursuing his purpose, he started at the head of his troops 
for Nanking. Li T'ai-po strongly disapproved of the 
Prince's course, a disapproval which affected that head- 
strong person not at all, and the poet was forced to accom- 
pany his master on the march to Nanking. 

At Nanking, the Prince's army was defeated by the 
Imperial troops, and immediately after the disaster Li 
T'ai-po fled, but was caught, imprisoned, and condemned 
to death. Now came the sequel to the incident which had 
taken place long before at Shantung. The Conmiander of 
the Imperial forces was no other than Kuo Tzii-i, the 

Ixxv 



INTRODUCTION 

fonner prisoner whose life Li T'ai-po had saved. On learn- 
ing the sentence passed upon the poet, Kuo Tzti-i inter- 
vened and threatened to resign his command unless his 
benefactor were spared. Accordingly Li T'ai-po's sentence 
was changed to exile and he was released, charged to depart 
immediately for some great distance where he could do no 
harm. He set out for Yeh Lang, a desolate spot beyond 
the "Five Streams," in Kueichow. This was the country 
of the yao kuaiy the man-eating demons; and whether he 
believed in them or not, the thought of existence in such a 
gloomy solitude must have filled him with desperation. 

He had not gone far, luckily, when a general amnesty 
was declared, and he was permitted to return and live with 
his friend and disciple, Lu Yang-ping, in the Lu Mountains 
near Eiukiang, a place which he dearly loved. Here, in 
A.D. 762, at the age of sixty-one, he died, bequeathing all 
his manuscripts to Lu Yang-ping. 

, The tale of his drowning, repeated by Giles and others, 
is pure legend, as an authoritative statement of Lu Yang- 
ping proves. The manuscripts left to his care, and all 
others he could collect from friends, Lu Yang-ping pub- 
lished in an edition of ten volumes. This edition appeared 
in the year of the poet's death, and contained the following 
preface by Lu Yang-ping: 

Since the three dynasties of antiquity. 

Since the style of the *Euo F^ng* and the *Li Sao,' 

Ixxvi 



INTRODUCTION 

During these thousand years and more, of those who walked 

the "lonely path," 
There has been only you, you are the Solitary Man, you are 

without rival. 

Li T'ai-po's poetry is full of dash and surprise. At his 
best, there is an extraordinary exhilaration in his work; at 
his worst, he is merely repetitive. Chinese critics have 
complained that his subjects are all too apt to be trivial, 
and that his range is narrow. This is quite true; poems of 
farewell, deserted ladies sighing for their absent lords, 
officials consumed by homesickness, paeans of praise for 
wine — in the aggregate there are too many of these. But 
how fine they often are! "The Lonely Wife," "Poignant 
Grief During a Sunny Spring," "After being Separated for 
a Long Time," such poems are the truth of emotion. Take 
again his inimitable humour in the two "Drinking Alone 
in the Moonlight" poems, or "Statement of Resolutions 
after being Drimk on a Spring Day." Then there are the 
poems of hyperbolical description such as "The Perils of 
the Shu Road," "The Northern Flight," and "The Ter- 
raced Road of the Two-Edged Sword Mountains." Moun- 
tains seem to be in his very blood. Of the sea, on the 
other hand, he has no such intimate knowledge; he sees it 
afar, from some height, but always as a thing apart, a 
distant view. The sea he gazes at; the mountains he 
treads under foot, their creepers scratch his face, the jut- 
ting rocks beside the path bruise his hands> He knows the 

Ixxvii 



INTRODUCTION 

straight-up, cutting-into-the-sky look of mountain peaks 
just above him, and feels, almost bodily, the sheer drop 
into the angry river tearing its way through a narrow gully 
below, a river he can see only by leaning dangerously far 
over the cliff upon which he is standing. There is a curious 
sense of perpendicularity about these mountain rhapsodies. 
The vision is strained up for miles, and shot suddenly down 
for hundreds of feet. The tactile effect of them is astound- 
ing; they are not to be read, but experienced. And yet I 
am loth to say that Li T'ai-po is at his greatest in descrip- 
tion, with poems so full of human passion and longing as 
*'The Lonely Wife," and "Poignant Grief During a Sunny 
Spring," before me. There is no doubt at all that in Li 
T'ai-po we have one of the world's greatest lyrists. 

Great though he was, it cannot be denied that he had 
serious weaknesses. One was his tendency to write when 
the mood was not there, and at these moments he was not 
ashamed to repeat a fancy conceived before on some other 
occasion. Much of his style he crystallized into a conven- 
tion, and brought it out unblushingly whenever he was at 
a loss for something to say. Sustained effort evidently 
wearied him. He will begin a poem with the utmost spirit, 
but his energy is apt to flag and lead to a close so weak as 
to annoy the reader. His short poems are always admirably 
built, the endings complete and unexpected; the architec- 
tonics of his long poems leave much to be desired. He seems 

Ixxviii 



INTRODUCTION 

to be ridden by his own emotion, but without the power to 
draw it up and up to a climax; it bursts upon us in the first 
line, sustains itself at the same level for a series of lines, and 
then seems to faint exhausted, reducing the poet to the 
necessity of stopping as quickly as he can and with as Uttle 
jar as possible. Illustrations of this tendency to a weak 
ending can be seen in "The Lonely Wife," "The Perils of 
the Shu Road," and "The Terraced Road of the Two- 
Edged Sword Mountains," but that he could keep his 
inspiration to the end on occasion, "The Northern Flight" 
proves. 

Finally, there are his poems of battle: "Songs of the 
Marches," "Battle to the South of the City," and "Fight- 
ing to the South of the City." Nothing can be said of these 
except that they are superb. If there is a hint of let-down 
in the concluding lines of " Fighting to the South of the 
City," it is due to the frantic Chinese desire to quote from 
older authors, and this is an excellent example of the chief 
vice of Chinese poetry, since these two lines are taken from 
the " Tao T6 Ching," the sacred book of Taoism ; the others, 
even the long "Songs of the Marches," are admirably 
sustained. 

In Mr. Waley's excellent monograph on Li T'ai-po, ap- 
pears the following paragraph: "Wang An-shih (a.d. 1021- 
1086), the great reformer of the Eleventh Century, ob- 
serves: *Li Po's style is swift, yet never careless; lively, yet 

Ixxix 



INTRODUCTION 

never infonnal. But his intellectual outlook was low and 
sordid. In nine poems out of ten he deals with nothing but 
wine and women.' " A somewhat splenetic criticism truly, 
but great reformers have seldom either the acumen or the 
sympathy necessary for the judgment of poetry. Women 
and wine there are in abundance, but how treated? In no 
mean or sordid manner certainly. Li T'ai-po was not a 
didactic poet, and we of the Twentieth Century may well 
thank fortune for that. Peradventure the Twenty-first 
will dote again upon the didactic, but we must follow our 
particular inclination which is, it must be admitted, quite 
counter to anything of the sort. No low or mean attitude 
indeed, but a rather restricted one we may, if we please, 
charge against Li T'ai-po. He was a sensuous realist, rep- 
resenting the world as he saw it, with beauty as his guiding 
star. Conditions to him were static; he wasted none of his 
force in speculating on what they should be. A scene or an 
emotion wasy and it was his business to reproduce it, not to 
analyze how it had come about or what would best make 
its recurrence impossible. Here he is at sharp variance with 
Tu Fu, who probes to the roots of events even when he 
appears to be merely describing them. One has but to 
compare the "Songs of the Marches" and "Battle to the 
South of the City" with "The Recruiting Officers" and 
"Crossing the Frontier" to see the difference. 
Tu Fu was bom in Tu Ling, in the province of Shensi, 

Ixxx 



INTRODUCTION 

in A.D. 713. His family was extremely poor, but his talent 
was so marked that at seven years old he had begun to 
write poetry; at nine, he could write large characters; and 
at fifteen, his essays and poems were the admiration of 
his small circle. When he was twenty-four, he went up to 
Ch'ang An, the capital, for his first examination — it will be 
remembered that, in the T'ang period, all the examinations 
took place at Ch'ang An. Tu Fu was perfectly qualified to 
pass, as every one was very well aware, but the opinions 
he expressed in his examination papers were so radical that 
the degree was withheld. There was nothing to be done, 
and Tu Fu took to wandering about the country, observing 
and writing, but with Uttle hope of anything save poverty 
to come. On one of his journeys, he met Li T'ai-po on the 
"Lute Terrace" in Ching Hsien. The two poets, who sin- 
cerely admired each other, became the closest firiends. 
Several poems in this collection are addressed by one to the 
other. 

When Tu Fu was thirty-six, it happened that the Em- 
peror sent out invitations to all the scholars in the Empire 
to come to the capital and compete in an examination. Tu 
Fu was, of course, known to the Emperor as a*man who 
would have been promoted but for the opinions aired in his 
papers. Of his learning, there could be no shadow of doubt. 
So Tu Fu went to Ch'ang An and waited there as an "ex- 
pectant oflicial." He waited for four years, when it oc- 

Ixxxi 



INTRODUCTION 

curred to him to ofTer three /u to the Emperor. The event 
justified his temerity, and the poet was given a post as one 
of the officials in the Chih Hsien library. This post he held 
for four years, when he was appointed to a slightly better 
one at Feng-hsien. But, a year later, the An Lu-shan rebel- 
lion broke out, which put a summary end to Tu Fu's posi- 
tion, whereupon he left Feng-hsien and went to live with a 
relative at the Village of White Waters. He was still living 
there when the Emperor Ming Huang abdicated in favour 
of his son, Su Tsung. If the old Emperor had given him an 
office, perhaps the new one woidd; at any rate it was worth 
an attempt, for Tu Fu was in dire poverty. Having no 
money to hire any kind of conveyance, he started to walk 
to his destination, but fell in with brigands who captured 
him. He stayed with these brigands for over a year, but 
finally escaped, and at length reached FSng Chiang, where 
the Emperor was in residence. 

His appearance on his arrival was miserable in the ex- 
treme. Haggard and thin, his shoulders sticking out of his 
coat, his rags literally tied together, he was indeed a spec- 
tacle to inspire pity, and the Emperor at once appointed 
him to the post of Censor. But this did not last long. He 
had the imprudence to remonstrate with the Emperor 
anent the sentence of banishment passed upon the general 
Tan Kuan. Considering that this clever and extremely 
learned soldier had so far relaxed the discipline of liis army 

Ixxxii 



INTRODUCTION 

during one of the Northern campaigns that, one night, 
when his troops were all peacefully sleeping in their chariots, 
the camp was surrounded and burnt and his forces utterly 
routed, the punishment seems deserved. But Tu Fu 
thought otherwise, and so unwisely urged his opinion that 
the Emperor lost patience and ordered an investigation 
of Tu Fu's conduct. His friends, however, rallied to his 
defence and the investigation was quashed, but he was 
deprived of the censorship and sent to a minor position in 
Shensi. This he chose to regard as a punishment, as indeed 
it was. He proceeded to Shensi, but, on arriving there, 
dramatically refused to assume his office; having performed 
which act of bravado, he joined his family in Kansu. He 
foimd them in the greatest distress from famine, and al- 
though he did his best to keep them ahve by going to the 
hills and gathering fire-wood to sell, and by digging up roots 
and various growing things for them to eat, several of his 
children died of starvation. 

Another six months of minor officialdom in Hua 
Chou, and he retired to Ch'engtu in Szechwan, where 
he lived in a grass-roofed house, engaged in study and 
the endeavour to make the two ends of nothing meet. 
At length, a friend of his arrived in Szechwan as Governor- 
General, and this friend appointed him a State Coun- 
sellor. But the grass-house was more to his taste than 
state councils, and after a year and a half he returned to 

Ixxxiii 



INTRODUCTION 

it, and the multifarious wanderings which always punctu- 
ated his life. 

Five years later, when he was fifty-five, he set off on one 
of his journeys, but was caught by floods and obliged to 
take refuge in a ruined temple at Hu Kuang, where he 
nearly starved before help coidd reach him. After ten days, 
he was rescued through the efforts of the local magistrate, 
but eating again after so long a fast was fatal and he died 
within an hour. 

Innumerable essays have been written comparing the 
styles of Li T'ai-po and Tu Fu. Yiian Chen, a poet of the 
T'ang period, says that Tu Fu's poems have perfect bal- 
ance ; that, if he wrote a thousand lines, the last woidd have 
as much vigour as the first and that no one can equal him 
in this, his poems make a "perfect circle." He goes on: 
"In my opinion, the great living wave of poetry and song 
in which Li T'ai-po excelled is surpassed in Tu Fu's work, 
he is shoidder higher than Li Po." Again: "The poems of 
Li T'ai-po are like Spring flowers, those of Tu Fu are like 
the pine-trees, they are eternal and fear neither snow nor 
cold." 

Shen Ming-chSn says: "Li Po is like the Spring grass, 
like Autumn waves, not a person but must love him. Tu 
Fu is like a great hill, a high peak, a long river, the broad 
sea, like fine grass and bright-coloured flowers, Uke a pine 
or an ancient fir, Uke moving wind and gentle waves, Uke 

Ixxxiv 



INTRODUCTION 

heavy hoar-frost, like bummg heat — not a quality is 
missing." 

Hu Yu-ling uses a metaphor referring to casting dice and 
says that Li T'ai-po woidd owe Tu Fu "an ivory"; and 
Han Yii, speaking of both Li T'ai-po and Tu Fu, declares 
that "the flaming Ught of their essays woidd rise ten thou- 
sand feet." 

. Poetic as these criticisms are, it is their penetration which 
is so astonishing; but I think the most striking comparison 
made of Tu Fu's work is that by Tao Kai-yu: "Tu Fu's 
poems are like pictures, like the branches of trees reflected 
in water — the branches of still trees. Like a large group 
of houses seen through clouds or mist, they appear and 
disappear." 

Sometime ago, in a review of a volume of translations of 
Chinese poetry in the London "Times," I came across this 
remarkable statement: "The Chinese poet starts talking 
in the most ordinary language and voices the most ordinary 
things, and his poetry seems to happen suddenly out of the 
commonplace as if it were some beautiful action happening 
in the routine of actual life." 

The critic coidd have had no knowledge of the Chinese 
language, as nothmg can be farther from the truth than his 
observation. It is largely a fact that the Oriental poet 
finds his themes in the ordinary affairs of everyday life, 
but he describes them in a very special, carefully chosen, 

Ixxxv 



■Ci 



INTRODUCTION 

medium. The simplest child's primer is written in a lan- 
guage never used in speaking, while the most highly edu- 
cated scholar woidd never dream of employing the sanie 
phrases in conversation which he woidd make use of were 
he writing an essay, a poem, or a state document. Each 
language — the spoken, the poetic, the literary, the docu- 
mentary — has its own construction, its own class of char- 
acters, and its own symbolism. A translator must there- 
fore make a special study of whichever he wishes to 
render. 

Although several great sinologues have written on the 
subject of Chinese poetry, none, so far as I am aware, has 
devoted his exclusive attention to the poetic style, nor has 
any translator availed himself of the assistance, so essential 
to success, of a poet — that is, one trained in the art of seiz- 
ing the poetic values in fine shades of meaning. Without 
this power, which amounts to an instinct, no one can hope 
to reproduce any poetry in another tongue, and how much 
truer this is of Chinese poetry can only be realized by those 
who have some knowledge of the language. Such poets, on 
the other hand, as have been moved to make beautiful ren- 
ditions of Chinese originals have been hampered by inade- 
quate translations. It is impossible to expect that even a 
scholar thoroughly versed in the philological aspects of 
Chinese literature can, at the same time, be endowed with 
enough of the poeticyiair to convey, uninjured, the thoughts 

Ixxxvi 



INTRODUCTION ! 

of one poet to another. A second personality obtrudes be- 
tween poet and poet, and the contact, which must be es- 
tablished between the two minds if any adequate transla- 
tion is to result, is broken. How Miss Lowell and I have 
endeavoured to obviate this rupture of the poetic current, 
I shall explain presently. But, to understand it, another 
factor in the case must first be understood. 

It cannot be too firmly insisted upon that the Chinese 
character itself plays a considerable part in Chinese poetic 
composition. Calligraphy and poetry are mixed up to- 
gether in the Chinese mind. How close this intermingling 
may be, wiU appear when we come to speak of the "Writ- 
ten Pictures," but even without following the interdepend- 
ence of these arts to the point where they merge into one, 
it must not be forgotten that Chinese is an ideographic, 
or picture, language. These marvellous coUections of brush- 
strokes which we call Chinese characters are really separate 
pictographic representations of complete thoughts. Com- 
plex characters are not spontaneously composed, but are 
built up of simple characters, each having its own peculiar 
meaning and usage; these, when used in combination, each 
play their part in modifying either the sense or the sound of 
the complex. Now it must not be thought that these 
separate entities make an over-loud noise in the harmony 
of the whole character. They are each subdued to the total 
result, the final meaning, but they do produce a qualifying 

Ixxxvii 



INTRODUCTION 

eiFect upon the word itself. Since Chinese characters are 
complete ideas, it is convenient to be able to express the 
various degrees of these ideas by special characters which 
shall have those exact meanings; it is, therefore, dear that 
to grasp a poet's full intention in a poem there must be a 
knowledge of the analysis of characters. 

This might seem bizarre, were it not for a striking proof 
to the contrary. It is a fact that many of the Chinese 
characters have become greatly altered during the centuries 
since they were invented. So long ago as a.d. 200, a scholar 
named Hsu Shih, realizing that this alteration was taking 
place, wrote the dictionary known as "Shuo WSn Chieh 
TzS," or "Speech and Writing: Characters Untied," con- 
taining about ten thousand characters in their primitive 
and final forms. This work is on the desk of every scholar 
in the Far East and is studied with the greatest reverence. 
Many editions have appeared since it was written, and by 
its aid one can trace the genealogy of characters in the most 
complete manner. Other volumes of the same kind have 
followed in its wake, showing the importance of the subject 
in Chinese estimation. While translators are apt to ignore 
this matter of character genealogy, it is ever present to 
the mind of the Chinese poet or scholar who is familiar 
with the original forms; indeed, he may be said to find his 
overtones in the actual composition of the character he is 
using. 

Ixxxviii 



INTRODUCTION 

All words have their connotations, but this is connota- 
tion and more; it is a pictorial representation of something 
implied, and, lacking which, an effect would be Jost. It 
may be objected that poems were heard as weU as read, 
and that, when heard, the composition of the character 
must be lost. But I think this is to misunderstand the sit- 
uation. Recollect, for a moment, the literary examina- 
tions, and consider that educated men had these charac- 
ters literally ground into them. Merely to pronounce a 
word must be, in such a case, to see it and realize, half- 
unconsciously perhaps, its various parts. Even if half-un- 
conscious, the nuances of meaning conveyed by them must 
have hung about the spoken word and given it a distinct 
flavour which, without them, woidd be absent. 

Now what is a translator to do? Shall he render the word 
in the flat, dictionary sense, or shall he permit himself to 
add to it what it conveys to an educated Chinese? Clearly 
neither the one nor the other in all cases; but one or the 
other, which the context must determine. In description, 
for instance, where it is evident that the Chinese poet used 
every means at his command to achieve a vivid representa- 
tion, I believe the original poem is more nearly reproduced 
by availing one's self of a minimum of these "split-ups"; 
where, on the other hand, the original carefully confines 
itself to simple and direct expression, the word as it is, 
without overtones, must certainly be preferred. The 

Ixxxix 



INTRODUCTION 

'^spIit-ups*' in these translations are few, but could our 
readers compare the original Chinese with Miss Lowell's 
rendition of it, in these instances, I think they would feel 
with me that in no other way coidd the translation have 
been made really "literal," coidd the poem be "brought 
over" in its entirety. If a translation of a poem is not 
poetry in its new tongue, the original has been shorn of its 
chief reason for being. Something is always lost in a trans- 
lation, but that something had better be the trappings 
than the essence. 
I must, however, make it quite clear how seldom these 
split-ups" occur in the principal parts of the book; in the 
Written Pictures," where the poems were not, most of 
them, classics, we felt justified in making a fuller use of 
these analytical suggestions; but I believe I am correct in 
saying that no translations firom the Chinese that I have 
read are so near to the originals as these. Bear in mind, 
then, that there are not, I suppose, more than a baker's 
dozen of these "split-ups" throughout the book, and the 
way they were managed can be seen by this literal transla- 
tion of a line in "The Terraced Road of the Two-Edged 
Sword Mountains." The Chinese words are on the left, 
the English words on the right, the analyses of the charac- 
ters enclosed in bracketsj 






ZC 



INTRODUCTION 

Shang Above 

Tsi Then 

Sung Pines 

F^ng Wind 

Hsiao Whistling wind (Grass — meaning the sound of 

wind through grass, to whistle; and in awe of, 

or to venerate.) 
iSS Gusts of wind (Wind; and to stand.) 
Si A psaltery (Two strings of jade-stones which 

are sonorous.) 
Yii Wind in a gale (Wind; and to speak.) 

Miss Lowell's rendering of the line was: 

"On their heights, the wind whistles awesomely in the pines; it 
booms in great, long gusts; it clashes like the strings of a 
jade-stone psaltery; it shouts on the clearness of a gale." 

Can any one doubt that this was just the effect that the 
Chinese poet wished to achieve, and did achieve by means 
of the overtones given in his characters ? 

Another, simpler, example is in a case where the Chinese 
poet speaks of a rising sun. There are many characters 
which denote sunrise, and each has some shade of difference 
from every other. In one, the analysis is the sunrise light 
seen from a boat through mist; in another, it is the sun just 
above the horizon; still another is made up of a period of 
time and a mortar, meaning that it is dawn, when people 
begin to work. But the poet chose none of these; instead, 
he chose a character which analyzes into the sun at the 
height of a helmeted man, and so Miss Lowell speaks of 

xci 



INTRODUCTION 

* 

the sun as "head-high," and we have the very picture the 
poet wanted us to see. 

Miss Lowell has told in the Preface the manner in which 
we worked. The papers sent to Miss LoweU were in ex- 
actly the form of the above, and with them I also sent a 
paraphrase, and notes such as those at the end of this book. 
Far from making the slightest attempt at literary form in 
these paraphrases, I deliberately made them as bald as 
possible, and strove to keep my personality from intruding 
between Miss Lowell and the Chinese poet with whose 
mood she must be in perfect sympathy. Her remarkable 
gift for entering into the feeling of the poet she is translait- 
ing was first shown in "Six French Poets," but there she 
approached her authors at first hand. It was my object to 
enable her to approach these Chinese authors as nearly at 
first hand as I could. That my method has been justified 
by the event, the book shows; not merely are these transla- 
tions extraordinarily exact, they are poetry, and woidd be 
so though no Chinese poet had conceived them fourteen 
hundred years ago. It is as if I had handed her the warp 
and the woof, the silver threads and the gold, and from 
these she has woven a brocade as nearly alike in pattern to 
that designed by the Chinese poet as the differences in the 
looms permit. I believe that this is the first time that Eng- 
lish translations of Chinese poetry have been made by a 
student of Chinese and a poet working together. Our ex- 

xcii 



INTRODUCTION 

perience of the partnership has taught us both much; if we 
are pioneers in such a collaboration, we only hope that 
others will follow our lead. 

The second section of the book, "Written Pictures," 
consists of illustrations, or half illustrations, of an art which 
the Chmese consider the most perfect medium in which a 
man can express himself. These Tzii Hua^ "Hanging-on- 
the-Wall Poems," are less known and understood than any 
other form of Oriental art. A beautiful thought perpetu- 
ated in beautiful handwriting and hung upon the wall to 
suggest a mental picture — that is what it amounts to. 

In China, the arts of poetry and calligraphy are united 
in the ideographs which form the written language. There 
are several different styles in which these ideographs, or 
characters, may be written. The earliest are pictograms 
known as the "ancient pictorial script," they were super- 
seded in the Eighth Century B.C. by the " great seal " char- 
acters and later by the "lesser seal." These, which had 
been executed with the "knife pen," were practically given 
up when the invention of the writing-brush, which is usu- 
ally translated as "pencil," revolutionized calligraphy 
(circa 215 B.C.). Their place was taken by a type of charac- 
ter known as "Zi" or "official script," a simplified form of 
the "seal," and this, being an improvement upon all 
previous styles, soon became popular. It created almost a 
new character in which the pictorial element had largely 

xciii 



INTRODUCTION 

disappeared, and, with certain modifications, holds good 
to-day. The "model hand," the "running hand," and the 
famous "grass hand," so popular with poets and painters, 
are merely adaptations of the li; all three of these, 
together with the li itself, are used in the composition of 
written pictures. 

The written pictures here translated were fonneriy in 
the possession of a Chinese gentleman of keenly aesthetic 
taste, and are excellent examples of the art. A photograph 
of one of the originals wiU be found opposite the translation 
made from it on page 170. The names which follow the 
poems are not those of the authors, but of the calligraphists. 
In the case of two poems, the authors' names are also given. 
These written pictures had no titles, those given here were 
added simply for convenience; but the titles to the poems 
in the body of the book are those of the poets themselves, 
except in one or two instances where the Chinese title 
conveyed so little to an Occidental mind that its meaning 
had to be paraphrased. 

The Notes at the end of the book are intended for the 
general reader. For which reason, I have purposely ex- 
cluded the type of note which consists in cataloguing 
literary cross-allusions. To know that certain lines in a 
poem are quoted from some earlier author, is one of a class 
of facts which deeply interest scholars, but are of no im- 
portance whatever to the rest of the world. 

xciv 



INTRODUCTION 

A word as to the title of this book : There lived at Ch*gng- 
tu, the capital of Szechwan, early in the Ninth Century, a 
courtesan named Hsieh T'ao, who was famous for her wit 
and verse-writing. Hsieh T'ao made a paper of ten colours, 
which she dipped in a stream, and on it wrote her poems. 
Now, some years before, a woman had taken the stole of a 
Buddhist priest to this stream in order to wash it. No 
sooner had the stole touched the water than the stream 
became jBlled with flowers. In an old Chinese book, "The 
Treasury of Pleasant Records," it is told that, later in life, 
Hsieh T'ao gave up the "fir-flower tablets" and made 
paper of a smaller size. Presumably this fir-flower paper 
was the paper of ten colours. The mountain stream which 
ran near Hsieh T'ao's house is called the "Hundred 
Flower Stream." 

I cannot close this Introduction without expressing my 
gratitude to my teacher, Mr. Nung Chu. It is his unflag- 
ging interest and never-failing patience that have kept me 
spurred on to my task. Speaking no word of English, Mr. 
Nung must often have found my explanations of what 
woidd, and what would not, be comprehensible to Occi- 
dental readers very difficult to understand, and my only 
regret is that he cannot read the book now that it is done. 



xcv 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 



SONGS OF THE MARCHES 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

I 

It is the Fifth Month, 

But still the Heaven-high hills 

Shine with snow. 

There are no flowers 

For the heart of the earth is yet too chilly. 

From the centre of the camp 

Comes the sound of a flute 

Playing "The Snapped Willow." 

No colour mists the trees, 

Not yet have their leaves broken. 

At dawn, there is the shock and shouting of battle, 

Following the drums and the loud metal gongs. 

At night, the soldiers sleep, clasping the pommels of their 

jade-ornamented saddles. 
They sleep lightlyj 

With their two-edged swords girt below their loins, 
So that they may be able in an instant to rush upon the 

Barbarians 
And destroy them. 

1 



''  II .t-v.yi 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

II 

Horses! 

Horses! 

Swift as the three dogs' wind! 

Whips stinging the clear air like the sharp calling of birds, 

They ride across the camel-back bridge 

Over the river Wei. 

They bend the bows, 

Curving them away from the moon which shines behind them 

Over their own country of Han. 

They fasten feathers on their arrows 

To destroy the immense arrogance of the foe. 

Now the regiments are divided 

And scattered like the five-pointed stars, 

Sea mist envelops the deserted camp, 

The task is accomplished. 

And the portrait of Ho P'iao Yao 

Hangs magnificently in the Lin Pavilion. 

Ill 

When Autumn bums along the hills, 
The Barbarian hordes mount their horses 
And pour down from the North. 
Then, in the country of Han, 
The Heavenly soldiers arise 
And depart from their homes. 

2 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

The High General 

Divides the tiger tally. 

Fight, Soldiers! 

Then lie down and rest 

On the Dragon sand. 

The frontier moon casts the shadows of bows upon the ground, 

Swords brush the hoar-frost flowers of the Barbarians' coun- 

tr)\ 
The Jade Pass has not yet been forced. 
Our soldiers hold it strongly. 
Therefore the young married women 
May cease their lamentations. 

IV 

The Heavenly soldiers are returning 

From the sterile plains of the North. 

Because the Barbarians desired their horses 

To drink of the streams of the South, 

Therefore were our spears held level to the chaise 

In a hundred fights. 

In straight battle our soldiers fought 

To gain the supreme gratitude 

Of the Most High Emperor. 

They seized the snow of the Inland Sea 

And devoured it in their terrible hunger. 

They lay on the sand at the top of the Dragon Mound 

And slept. 

3 



Fm-FLOWER TABLETS 

All this they bore that the Moon Clan 

Might be destroyed. 

Now indeed have they won the right 

To the soft, high bed of Peace. 

It is their just portion. 



THE BATTLE TO THE SOUTH OF THE CITY 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

How dim the battle-field, as yellow dusk! 

The fighting men are like a swarm of ants. 

The air is thick, the sun a red wheel. 

Blood dyes the wild chrysanthemums purple. 

Vultures hold the flesh of men in their mouths. 

They are heavy with food — they cannot rise to fly« 

There were men yesterday on the city wall; 

There are ghosts to-day below the city wall. 

Colours of flags like a net of stars, 

Rolling of horse-carried drums — not yet is the killing 

ended. 
From the house of the Unworthy One — a husband, sons. 
All within earshot of the rolling horse-drums. 



THE PERILS OF THE SHU ROAD 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

Alas! Alas! The danger! The steepness ! O Affliction! 

The Shu Road is as perilous and difficult as the way to the 
Green Heavens. 

No greater undertaking than this has been ance Ts'an Ts'ung 
and Yii Fu ruled the land. 

For forty-eight thousand years no man had passed the bound- 
ary of Ch'in. 

Westward, over the Great White Mountain, was a bird- 
track 

By which one could cross to the peak of Omei. 

But the earth of the mountain fell and overwhelmed the 
Heroes so that they perished. 

Afterwards, therefore, they made sky-ladders and joined the 
cliffs with hanging pathways. 

Above, the soaring tips of the high mountains hold back the 
six dragons of the sun ; 

Below, in the ravines, the flowing waters break into whirl- 
pools and swirl back against the current. 

Yellow, geese flying toward the peaks cannot pass over them ; 

The gibbons climb and climb, despairingly pulling them- 
selves up higher and higher, but even their endurance 
fails. 

6 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

How the road coils and coils through the Green Mud Pass ! 
With nine turns to a hundred steps, it winds round the ledges 

of the mountain crests. 
Clutching at Orion, passing the Well Star, I look up and 

gasp. 
I sit long with my hand pressed to my heart and groan. 
I ask my Lord how long this Westward wandering will last, 

when we shall return. 
It is impossible to climb the terrible road along the edges of 

the precipices. 
Among the ancient trees, one sees only cruel, mournful, black 

birds. 
Male birds, followed by females, fly to and fro through the 

woods. 
Sometimes one hears a nightingale in the melancholy moon- 
light of the lonely mountain. 
The Shu Road is as perilous and difficult as the way to the 

Green Heavens. 
The ruddy faces of those who hear the story of it turn pale. 
There is not a cubit's space between the mountain tops and 

the sky. 
Dead and uprooted pine-trees hang over sheer cliffs. 
Flying waterfalls and rolling torrents outdo one another in 

clamour and confusion ; 
They dash against the perpendicular walls, whirl round ten 

thousand rocks, and boom like thunder along the 

ravines. 

r 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

This is what the Two-Edged Sword Mountains are like! 
Alas! How endless a road for man to undertake! How came 

he to attempt it! 
The Terraced Road of the Two-Eldged Sword twists between 

glittering and rocky summits. 
One man alone could hold it against a thousand and mow 

them down like grass. 
If the guardian of the Pass were doubtful whether those who 

came were enemies of his kinsmen. 
He could fall upon them as a ravening wolf. 
At dawn, one flees the fierce tigers; 
In the evening, one flees the long snakes 
Who sharpen their fangs and suck blood. 
Destroying men like hemp. 
Even though the delights of the Embroidered City are as 

reported. 
Nothing could equal the joy of going home at once. 
The Shu Road is as perilous and difiicult as the way to the 

Green Heavens. 
I turn toward the West, and, gazing long, I sigh. 



8 



LOOKING AT THE MOON AFTER RAIN 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The heavy clouds are broken and blowing, 

And once more I can see the wide common stretching be- 
yond the four sides of the city. 

Open the door. Half of the moon-toad is already up, 

The glimmer of it is like smooth hoar-frost spreading over 
ten thousand li. 

The river is a flat, shining chain. 

The moon, rising, is a white eye to the hills ; 

After it has risen, it is the bright heart of the sea. 

Because I love it — so — round as a fan, 

I hum songs until the dawn. 



THE LONELY WIFE 



BY LI t'aI-PO 



The mist is thick. On the wide river, the water-plants float 

smoothly. 
No letters come; none go. 
There is only the moon, shining through the clouds of a 

hard, jade-green sky. 
Looking down at us so far divided, so anxiously apart. 
All day, going about my afiairs, I suffer and grieve, and 

press the thought of you closely to my heart. 
My eyebrows are locked in sorrow, I cannot separate them. 
Nightly, nightly, I keep ready half the quilt. 
And wait for the return of that divine dream which is my 

Lord. 

Beneath the quilt of the Fire-Bird, on the bed of the Silver- 
Crested Love-Pheasant, 

Nightly, nightly, I drowse alone. 

The red candles in the silver candlesticks melt, and the w^x 
runs from them. 

As the tears of your so Unworthy One escape and continue 
constantly to flow. 

A flower face endures but a short season. 

Yet still he drifts along the river Hsiao and the river Hsiang. 

10 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

As I toss on my pillow, I hear the cold, nostalgic sound of 

the water-clock : 
Sheng ! Sheng ! it drips, cutting my heart in two. 

I rise at dawn. In the Hall of Pictures 

They come and tell me that the snow-flowers are falling. 

The reed-blind is rolled high, and I gaze at the beautiful, 

glittering, primeval snow. 
Whitening the distance, confusing the stone steps and the 

courtyard. 
The air is filled with its shining, it blows far out like the 

smoke of a furnace. 
The grass-blades are cold and white, like jade girdle pendants. 
Surely the Immortals in Heaven must be crazy with wine to 

cause such disorder. 
Seizing the white clouds, crumpling them up, destroying 

them. 



11 



THE PLEASURES WITHIN THE PALACE 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

From little, little girls, they have lived in the Golden House. 
They are lovely, lovely, in the Purple Hall. 
They dress their hair with hill flowers, 
And rock-bamboos are embroidered on their dresses of open- 
work silk gauze. 
When they go out from the retired Women's Apartments, 
They often follow the Palace chairs. 
Their only sorrow, that the songs and wu dances are over, 
Changed into the five-coloured clouds and flown away. 



12 



THE YOUNG GIRLS OF YUEH 
BY LI t'ai-PO 

I 

Young girls are gathering lotus-seeds on the pond of Ya. 
Seeing a man on the bank, they turn and row away singing. 
Laughing, they hide among the lotus-flowers, 
And, in a pretence of bashfulness, will not come out. 

II 

Many of the young girls of Wu are white, dazzlingly white. 
They like to amuse themselves by floating in little boats on 

the water. 
Peeping out of the comers of their eyes, they spurn the 

Springtime heart. 
Gathering flowers, they ridicule the passer-by. 



13 



^iJOtiiJi^'' 



,jg|| 



WRITTEN IN THE CHARACTER OF 
A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN GRIEVING BEFORE 

HER MIRROR 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

I 

Bright, bright, the gilded magpie mirror. 

Absolutely perfect in front of me on the jade dressing-stand. 

Wiped, rubbed, splendid as the Winter moon; 

Its light and brilliance, how clear and round ! 

The rose-red face is older than it was yesterday. 

The hair is whiter than it was last year. 

The white-lead powder is neglected, 

It is useless to look into the mirror. I am utterly miserable. 

II 

When my Lord went away, he gave me this precious mirror 

coiled with dragons 
That I might gaze at my golden-threaded dress of silken 

gauze. 
Again and again I take my red sleeve and polish the bright 

moon. 
Because I love to see its splendour lighting up everything. 
In its centre is my reflection, and the golden magpie which 

does not fly away. 

14 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I sit at my dressing-stand, and I am like the green Fire-Bird 
who, thinking of its mate, died alone. 

My husband is parted from me as an arrow from the bow- 
string. 

I know the day he left; I do not know the year when he 
will return. 

The cruel wind blows — truly the heart of the Unworthy 
One is cut to pieces. 

My tears, like white jade chop-sticks, fall in a single piece 
before the water-chestnut mirror. 



15 



SONGS TO THE PEONIES SUNG TO THE AIR: 
" PEACEFUL BRIGHTNESS '* 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

I 

The many-coloured clouds make me think of her upper gar- 
ments, of her lower garments; 
Flowers make me think of her face. 

The Spring wind brushes the blossoms against the balustrade, 
In the heavy dew they are bright and tinted diversely. 
If it were not on the Heaped Jade Mountain that I saw her, 
I must have met her at the Green Jasper Terrace, or encoun- 
tered her by accident in the moon. 

II 

A branch of opulent, beautiful flowers, sweet-scented under 

frozen dew. 
No love-night like that on the Sorceress Mountain for these ; 

their bowels ache in vain. 
Pray may I ask who, in the Palace of Han, is her equal ? 
Even the " Flying Swallow " is to be pitied, since she must 

rely upon ever new adornments. 

Ill 

The renowned flower, and die of a loveliness to overthrow 
Kingdoms — both give happiness. 

16 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Each receives a smile from the Prince when he looks at them. 
The Spring wind alone can understand and explain the 

boundless jealousy of the flower, 
Leaning over the railing of the balcony at the North side of 

the aloe-wood pavilion. 



17 



SPRING GRIEF AND RESENTMENT 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

There is a white horse with a gold bridle to the East of the 

Liao Sea. 
Bed-curtains of open-work silk — embroidered quilt — I 

sleep with the Spring wind. 
The setting moon drops level to the balcony, it spies upon 

me. The candle is burnt out. 
A blown flower drifts in through the inner door — it mocks 

at the empty bed. 



18 



THE CAST-OFF PALACE WOMAN OF CH'IN 
AND THE DRAGON ROBES 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

At Wei Yang dwells the Son of Heaven. 

The all Unworthy One attends beside 

The Dragon-broidered robes. 

I ponder his regard, not mine the love 

Enjoyed by those within the Purple Palace. 

And yet I have attained to brightening 

The bed of yellow gold. 

If floods should come, I also would not leave. 

A bear might come and still I could protect. 

My inconsiderable body knows the honour 

Of serving Sun and Moon. 

I flicker with a little glow of light, 

A firefly's. I beg my Lord to pluck 

The trifling mustard plant and melon-flower 

And not reject them for their hidden roots. 



19 



THE POET IS DETAINED IN A NANKING 
WINE-SHOP ON THE EVE OF STARTING 

ON A JOURNEY 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The wind blows. The inn is filled with the scent of willow- 
flowers. 

In the wine-shops of Wu, women are pressing the wine. The 
sight invites customers to taste. 

The young men and boys of Nanking have gathered to see 
me off; 

I wish to start, but I do not, and we drink many, many 
horn cups to the bottom. 

I beg them to look at the water flowing toward the East, 

And when we separate to let their thoughts follow its exam- 
ple and run constantly in my direction. 



20 



F^NG HUANG T'AI 

ASCENDING THE TERRACE OF THE SILVER-CRESTED LOVE- 
PHEASANTS AT THE CITY OF THE GOLDEN MOUND 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The silver-crested love-pheasants strutted upon the Pheasant 

Terrace. 
Now the pheasants are gone, the terrace is empty, and the 

river flows on its old, original way. 
Gone are the blossoms of the Palace of Wu and overgrown 

the road to it. 
Passed the generations of the Chin, with their robes and 

head-dressies; they lie beneath the ancient mounds. 

The three hills are half fallen down from Green Heaven, 
The White Heron Island cuts the river in two. 
Here also, drifting clouds may blind the Sun, 
One cannot see Ch'ang An, City of Eternal Peace. 
Therefore am I sorrowful. 



01 



THE NORTHERN FLIGHT 
BY LI t'ai-PO 

What hardships are encountered in a Northern flight! 
We fly Northward, ascending the T'ai Hang Mountains. 
The mountain road winds round a clifF, and it is very steep 

and dangerous ; 
The precipice, sheer as though cut with a knife, rises to the 

great, wide blue of the sky. 
The horses' feet slip on the slanting ledges; 
The carriage-wheels are broken on the high ridges; 
The sand, scuffed into dust, floats in a continuous line to Yo 

Chou. 
The smoke of beacon fires connects us with the Country of 

the North. 
The spirit of killing is in the spears, in the cruel two-edged 

swords. 
The savage wind rips open the upper garments, the lower 

garments. 
The rushing whale squeezes the Yellow River; 
The man-eating beasts with long tusks assemble at Lo Yang. 

We press forward with no knowledge of when we shall re- 
turn; 
We look back, thinking of our former home; 

22 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Grieving and lamenting in the midst of ice and snow; 

Groaning aloud, with our bowels rent asunder. 

A foot of cloth does not cover the body, 

Our skins are cracked as the bark of a dead mulberry. 

The deep gullies prevent us from getting water from the 

mountain streams, 
Far away are the slopes where we might gather grass and 

twigs for our fires. 
Then, too, the terrible tiger lashes his tail, 
And his polished teeth glitter like Autumn frosts. 
Grass and trees cannot be eaten. 
We famish; we drink the drops of freezing dew. 
Alas ! So we suffer, travelling Northward. 
I stop my four-horse carriage, overcome by misery. 
When will our Emperor find a peaceful road ? 
When, before our glad faces, shall we see the Glory of 

Heaven? 



23. 



FIGHTING TO THE SOUTH OF THE CITY 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

Last year they fought at the source of the Sang Ch'ien, 
This year they fight on the road by the Leek-green River, 
I'he soldiers were drenched by the waters of the Aral Sea, 
The horses were turned loose to find grass in the midst of the 

snows of the Heaven High Hills. 
Over ten thousand /r, they attacked and fought. 
The three divisions are crumbled, decayed, utterly worn and 

old. 
The Hsiung Nu use killing and slaughter in the place of the 

business of plowing. 
From ancient times, only dry, white bones are seen on the 

yellow sand-fields. 
The House of Ch'in erected and pounded firm the wall to 

make a barrier before the dwelling-place of the 

Barbarians, 
The House of Han still preserved the beacon-stands where 

fires are lighted. 
The lighting of beacon fires on the 'stands never ceases. 
The fighting and attacking are without a time of ending. 
In savage attack they die — fighting without arms. 
The riderless horses scream with terror, throwing their heads 

up to the sky. 

24 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Vultures and kites tear the bowels of men with their beaks 
And fly to hang them on the branches of dead trees. 
Officers and soldiers lying in mud, in grass, in undergrowth. 
Helpless, the General — Yes, incapable before this! 
We have learnt that soldiers are evil tools. 
But wise men have not accomplished the ending of war, and 
still we employ them. 



25 



THE CROSSWISE RIVER 
BY LI t'ai-PO 

I 

There are people who say the Crosswise River is good; 

I say the Crosswise River is terrible. 

The savage wind blows as if it would overturn the Heaven's 

Gate Mountains. 
The white waves are as high as the high rooms in the Tern* 

pie of Wa Kuan. 

II 

The sea tide flowing Southward passes HsUn Yang. 

From the beginning of things, the Ox Ledge has been more 

dangerous than the Standing Horse Hill. 
Those who wish to cross the Crosswise River 
Find evil winds and waves. 
The misery of that one stretch of water draws out its length 

to ten thousand /i. 

Ill 

When the Sea Demon passes by, a vicious wind curves back. 
The waves beat open the rock wall of the Gate of Heaven. 
Is the Eighth Month tide-bore of Chekiang equal to this? 
It seems as though the vast, booming waves were part of the 
mountains — they spurt out snow. 

26 



ON HEARING THE BUDDHIST PRIEST OF 
SHU PLAY HIS TABLE-LUTE 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



The Priest of the Province of Shu, carrying his table-lute in 

a cover of green, shot silk, 
Comes down the Western slope of the peak of Mount Omei. 
He moves his hands for me, striking the lute. 
It is like listening to the waters in ten thousand ravines, and 

the wind in ten thousand pine-trees. 
The traveller's heart is washed clean as in flowing water. 
The echoes of the overtones join with the evening bell. 
I am not conscious of the sunset behind the jade-grey hill, 
Nor how many and dark are the Autumn clouds. 



27 



CH'ANG KAN 
BY LI t'aI-PO 

When the hair of your Unworthy One first began to cover 

her forehead, 
She picked flowers and played in front of the door. 
Then you, my Lover, came riding a bamboo horse. 
We ran round and round the bed, and tossed about the 

sweetmeats of green plums. 
We both lived in the village of Ch'ang Kan. 
We were both very young, and knew neither jealousy nor 

suspicion. 
At fourteen, I became the wife of my Lord. 
I could not yet lay aside my face of shame; 
I hung my head, facing the dark wall; 
You might call me a thousand times, not once would I turn 

round. 
At fifteen, I stopped frowning. 
I wanted to be with you, as dust with its ashes. 
I often thought that you were the faithful man who clung to 

the bridge-post. 
That I should never be obliged to ascend to the Looking-for- 
Husband Ledge. 
When I was sixteen, my Lord went far away. 
To the Ch'ii T'ang Chasm and the Whirling Water Rock 

of the Yii River 

28 



J FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Which, during the Fifth Month, must not be collided with; 
Where the wailing of the gibbons seems to come from the sky. 
Your departing footprints are still before the door where I 

bade you gopd-bye. 
In each has sprung up green moss. 
The moss is thick, it cannot be swept away. 
The leaves are falling, it is early for the Autumn wind to 

blow. 
It is the Eighth Month, the butterflies are yellow. 
Two are flying among the plants in the West garden; 
Seeing them, my heart is bitter with grief, they wound the 

heart of the Unworthy One. 
The bloom of my face has faded, sitting with my sorrow. 
From early morning until late in the evening, you descend 
^ the Three Serpent River. 

Prepare me first with a letter, bringing me the news of when 

you will reach home. 
I will not go far on the road to meet you, 
I will go straight until I reach the Long Wind Sands. 



29 



SORROW DURING A CLEAR AUTUMN 

BY LI t'AI-PO 

I CLIMB the hills of Chiu I — Oh-h-h-h-h ! I look at the clear 

streams a long way off. 
I see distinctly the three branches of the Hsiang River, I hear 

the sound of its swift current. 
The water flows coldly; it is on its way to the lake. 
The horizontal Autumn clouds hide the sky, 
I go by the " Bird's Path." I calculate the distance to my 

old home. Oh-h-h-h-h ! 
I do not know how many thousand It it is from Ching to Wu. 
It is the hour of the Western brightness, of the half-round 

sun. 
The dazzle on the island is about to disappear; 
The smooth lake is brilliantly white — from the moon? 
Over the lake, the moon is rising. 
I think of the moment of meeting — the long stretch of time 

before it. 
I think of misty Yen and gaze at Yiieh. 
The lotus-flowers have fallen — Oh-h-h-h-h! The river is 

the colour of Autumn. 
The wind passes — passes. The night is endless — endless. 
I would go to the end of the Dark Sea. How eagerly I de- 
sire this ! 

30 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I think much of fishing for a leviathan from the Island of 

the Cold Sea. 
There is no rod long enough to raise it. 
I yield to the great waves, and my sorrow is increased. 
I will return. I will go home. Oh-h-h-h-h! 
Even for a little time, one cannot rely upon the World. 
I long to pick the immortal herbs on the hill of P^eng. 



31 



POIGNANT GRIEF DURING A SUNNY SPRING 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The East wind has come again. 

I see the jade-green grass and realize that it is Spring. 

Everywhere there is an immense confusion of ripples and 

» 

agitations. 
Why does the waving and fluttering of the weeping-willow 

make me sad? 
The sky is so bright it shines; everything is lovely and at 

peace. 
The breath of the sea is green, fresh, sweet-smelling; 
The heaths are vari-coloured, blue — green — as a kingfisher 

feather. Oh-h-h-h-h — How far one can see! 
Clouds whirl, fly, float, and cluster together, each one sharply 

defined; 
Waves are smoothed into a wide, continuous flowing. 
I examine the young moss in the well, how it starts into 

life. 
I see something dim — Oh-h-h-h-h — waving up and down 

like floss silk. 
I see it floating — it is a cobweb, coiling like smoke. 
Before all these things — Oh-h-h-h-h — my soul is severed 

from my body. 
Confronted with the wind, the brilliance, I suffer. 

32 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I feel as one feels listening to the sound of the waters of the 

Dragon Mound in Ch'in, 
The gibbons wailing by the Serpent River. 
I feel as the *' Shining One " felt when she passed the Jade 

Frontier, 
As the exile of Ch'u in the Maple Forest. 
I will try to climb a high hill and look far away into the 

distance. 
Pain cuts me to the bone and wounds my heart. 
My Spring heart is agitated as the surface of the sea, 
My Spring grief is bewildered like a flurry of snow. 
Ten thousand emotions are mingled — their sorrow and their 

joy- 
Yet I know only that my heart is torn in this Spring season. 

She of whom I am thinking — Oh-h-h-h-h — is at the shore 

of the Hsiang River, 
Separated by the clouds and the rainbow — without these 

mists I could surely see. 
I scatter my tears a foot's length upon the water's surface. 
I entrust the Easterly flowing water with my passion for the 

Cherished One. 
If I could command the shining of the Spring, could grasp it 

without putting it out — Oh-h-h-h-h — 
I should wish to send it as a gift to that beautiful person at 

the border of Heaven. 



33 



TWO POEMS WRITTEN AS PARTING GIFTS 
TO TS'UI (THE OFFICIAL) OF CH'IU PU 

BY LI t'aI-PO 



I LOVE Ts'ui of Ch'iu Pu. 

He follows the ways of the Official T'ao. 

At his gate, he has planted five willow-trees, 

And on either side of the well, crowding it between them, 

stand two wu-t'ung trees. 
^ Mountain birds fly down and listen while he transacts business ; 
From the eaves of his house, flowers drop into the midst of 

his wine. 
Thinking of my Lord, I cannot bear to depart. 
My thoughts are melancholy and endless. 

II 

My Lord is like T'ao of P'eng Tse. 

Often, during the day, he sleeps at the North window. 

Again, in the moonlight, he bends over his table-lute and 

plays, 
His hands follow his thoughts, for there are no strings. 
When a guest comes, it is wine alone which he pours out. 
He is the best of officials, since he does not care for gold. 
He has planted many grains on the Eastern heights. 
And he admonishes all the people to plow their fields early, 

34 



SENT AS A PARTING GIFT TO THEL SECOND 

OFFICIAL OF CH'IU PU 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

In the old days, Ch'iu Pu was bare and desolate, 

The serving-men in the Official Residence were few. 

Because you, my Lord, have planted peach-trees and plum- 
trees, 

This place has suddenly become exuberantly fragrant. 

As your writing-brush moves, making the characters so full 
of life, you gaze at the white clouds ; 

And, when the reed-blinds are rolled up, at the kingfisher- 
green of the fading hills; 

And, when the time comes, for long at the mountain moon; 

Still again, when you are exhilarated with wine, at the 
shadow of the moon in the wine-cup. 

Great man and teacher, I love you. 

I linger. 

I cannot bear to leave. 



35 



i 



' ' 



V 



THE SONG OF THE WHITE CLOUDS 

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO LIU SIXTEEN ON HIS RETURN TO THE 

HILLS 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The hills of Ch'u, 

The hills of Ch'in, 

White clouds everywhere. 

White clouds follow my Lord always, 

From place to place. They always follow 

My Lord, 

When my Lord arrives at the hills of Ch'u; 

Clouds also follow my Lord when he floats 

In a boat on the river Hsiang, 

With the wild wistaria hanging above 

The waters of the river Hsiang. 

My Lord will go back 

To where he can sleep 

Among the white clouds, 

When the sun is as high 

As the head of a helmeted man. 



36 



WIND-BOUND AT THE NEW FOREST REACH. 
A LETTER SENT TO A FRIEND 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

Tidal water is a determined thing, it can be depended on ; 
But it is impossible to make an appointment with the wind 

of Heaven. 
In the clear dawn, it veers Northwest; 
At the last moment of sunset, it blows Southeast. 
It is therefore difficult to set our sail. 
The thought of our happy meeting becomes insistent. 
The wide water reflects a moon no longer round, but broken. 
Water grass springs green in the broad reach. 
Yesterday, at the North Lake, there were plum-flowers; 
They were just beginning to open, the branches were not 

covered. 
To-day, at dawn, see the willows beyond the White Gate; 
The road is squeezed between them, they drop down their 

bright green silk threads. 
Everything stirs like this, with the year — 
When will my coming be fixed ? 
Willow-blossoms lie thick as snow on the river, 
I am worried, the heart of the traveller is sad. 
" At daybreak I will leave the New Forest Reach " — 
But what is the use of humming Hsieh T'iao's poem. 

37 



IN THE PROVINCE OF LU. 

AT THE ANCESTRAL SHRINE OF KING YAO. 

SAYING FAREWELL TO WU FIVE ON HIS 

DEPARTURE FOR LANG YA 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

King Yao has been dead for three thousand years, 

But the green pine, the ancient temple, remain. 

As we are bidding you good-bye, we set out offerings of 

cassia wine; 
We make obeisance, we bend our knees, and, rising, turn our 

faces to Heaven. Our hearts and spirits are pure. 
The colour of the sun urges our return. 
Song follows song, we tip up the flagon of sweet-scented 

wine. 
The horses whinny. We are all tipsy, yet we rise. 
Our hands separate. What words are there still to say ? 



38 



DRINKING ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

I 

A POT of wine among flowers. 

I alone, drinking, without a companion. 

I lift the cup and invite the bright moon. 

My shadow opposite certainly makes us three. 

But the moon cannot drink, 

And my shadow follows the motions of my body in vain. 

For the briefest time are the moon and my shadow my com- 
panions. 

Oh, be joyful ! One must make the most of Spring. 

I sing — the moon walks forward rhythmically; 

I dance, and my shadow shatters and becomes confused. 

In my waking moments, we are happily blended. 

When I am drunk, we are divided from one another and 
scattered. 

For a long time I shall be obliged to wander without in- 
tention; 

But we will keep our appointment by the far-off Cloudy 
River. 



39 



DRINKING ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

II 

If Heaven did not love wine, 

There would be no Wine Star in Heaven. * 

If Earth did not love wine, 

There should be no Wine Springs on Earth. 

Why then be ashamed before Heaven to love wine. 

I have heaixl that clear wine is like the Sages; 

Again it is said that thick wine is like the Virtuous 

Worthies. 
Wherefore it appears that we have swallowed both Sages 

and Worthies. • 
Why should we strive to be Gods and Immortals ? 
Three cups, and one can perfectly understand the Great 

Tao; 
A gallon, and one is in accord with all nature. 
Only those in the midst of it can fully comprehend the joys 

of wine"; 
I do not proclaim them to the ^ber. 



40 



A STATEMENT OF RESOLUTIONS AFTER 
BEING DRUNK ON A SPRING DAY 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

This time of ours 

Is like a great, confused dream. 

Why should one spend one's life in toil ? 

Thinking this, I have been drunk all day. 

I fell down and lay prone by the pillars in fix>nt of the house; 

When I woke up, I gazed for a long time 

At the courtyard before me, 

A bird sings among the flowers. 

May I ask what season this is? 

Spring wind, 

The bright oriole of the water-flowing flight calls. 

My feelings make me want to sigh. 

The wine is still here, I will throw back my head and drink. 

I sing splendidly, 
I wait for the bright moon. 

Already, by the end of the song, I have forgotten my feel- 
ings. 



41 



RIVER CHANT 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



Fig-wood oars, 

A boat of the wood of the sand-pear. 

At either end, 

Jade flageolets and pipes of gold. 

Amidships, 

Jars of delectable wine. 
And ten thousand pints 
Put by. 

A boat-load of singing-girls 

Following the water ripples — 

Going, 

Stopping, 

Veering — 

The Immortal waited. 

Then mounted and rode the yellow crane. 

But he who is the guest of the sea has no such desire, 

Rather would he be followed by the white gulls. 

The tzii and Jii of Ch'ii P'ing hang suspended like the sun 

and moon. 
The terraces and the pleasure-houses 

42 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Of the Kings of Ch'u 
Are empty heaps of earth, 

I am drunk with wine, 

With the sweet taste of it; 

I am overflowed with the joy of it. 

When I take up my writing-brush, 

I could move the Five Peaks. 

When I have finished my poem, 

I laugh aloud in my arrogance. 

I rise to the country of the Immortals which lies in the mid- 
dle of the sea. 

If fame followed- the ways of the good official. 

If wealth and rank were long constant, 

Then indeed might the water of the Han River flow North- 
west. 



43 



SEPARATED BY IMPERIAL SUMMONS FROM 
HER WHO LIVES WITHIN 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

I 

The Emperor commands ; three times the summons. He who 

left has not yet returned. 
To-morrow, at sunrise, he will go out by the Pass of Wu. 
From the upper chamber of white jade, I shall gaze far off; 

but I shall be able to make out nothing. 
Our thoughts will be with each other. I must ascend the 

Looking-for-Husband Hill. 

II 

As I left my door, my wife dragged my clothes with all her 

strength. 
She asked me in how many days I should return from the 

West. 
** When I return, supposing I wear at my girdle the yellow 

gold seal. 
You must not imitate Su Chain's wife and not leave your 

loom.'' 

Ill 

The upper chamber of kingfisher jade, the stairs of gold — 

Who passes the night alone, leaning against the door and 

sobbing? 

44 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

She Mts all night by the cold lamp until the moon melts into 

the dawn. 
Her streaming, streaming tears are exhausted — to the West 

of the Ch'u Barrier. 



45 



A WOMAN SINGS TO THE AIR : " SITTING AT 

NIGHT " 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

A Winter night, a cold Winter night. To me, the night is 

unending. 
I chant heavily to myself a long time. I sit, sit in the 

North Hall. 
The water in the well is solid with ice. The moon enters the 

Women's Apartments. 
The flame of the gold lamp is very small, the oil is frozen. 

It shines on the misery of my weeping. 

The gold lamp goes out, 

But the weeping continues and increases. 

The Unworthy One hides her tears in her sleeve. 

She hearkens to the song of her Lord, to the sound of it. 

The Unworthy One knows her passion. 

The passion and the sound unite. 

There is no discord between them. 

If a single phrase were unsympathetic to my thoughts, 

Then, though my Lord sang ten thousand verses which 

should cause even the dust on the beams to fly, to me 

it would be nothing. 



46 



THE PALACE WOMAN OF HAN TAN BECOMES 
THE WIFE OF THE SOLDIERS' COOK 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

Once the Unworthy One was a maiden of the Ts'ung Ter- 
race. 

Joyfully lifting my moth-pencilled eyebrows, I entered the 
carnation-coloured Palace. 

Relying on myself, my flower-like face, 

How should I know that it would wither and fade ? 

Banished below the jade steps, 

Gone as the early morning clouds are gone. 

Whenever I think of Han Tan City 

I dream of the Autumn moon from the middle of the Palace. 

I cannot see the Prince, my Lord. 

Desolate, my longing — until daylight comes. 



47 



THE SORREL HORSE 
BY LI t'aI-PO 

The sorrel horse with the black tail gallops, gallops, and 
neighs, 

Lifting, curving, his grey-jade hoofs. 

He shies from the flowing water, unwilling to cross, 

As though he feared the mud for his embroidered saddle- 
cloth. 

The snow is white on the far frontier hills, 

The clouds are yellow over the misty frontier sea. 

I strike with my leather whip, there are ten thousand ii to go. 

How can I accomplish it, thinking of Spring in the Women^s 
Apartments i 



48 



A POEM GIVEN TO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN 
ENCOUNTERED ON A FIELD-PATH 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

The magnificent horse, galloping swi/tly, tramples the fallen 

flower. 
Down comes the riding-whip, straight down — it strikes the 

Five Cloud Cart. 
The young person who lifts the pearl door-screen is very 

beautiful. Moreover, she smiles. 
She points to a Red Building in the distance — it is the home 

of the Flower Maiden. 



49 



SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

Clear green hills at a right angle to the North wall, 

White water winding to the East of the city. 

Here is the place where we must part. 

I'he lonely water-plants go ten thousand ii; 

The floating clouds wander everywhither as does man. 

Day is departing — it and my friend. 

Our hands separate. Now he is going. 

" Hsiao, hsiao," the horse neighs. 

He neighs again, ^^ Hsiao, hsiao." 



50 



DESCENDING THE EXTREME SOUTH MOUN- 
TAIN; PASSING THE HOUSE OF HU SStJ, 
LOVER OF HILLS; SPENDING THE 
NIGHT IN THE PREPARATION 

OF WINE 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

We come down the green-grey jade hill, 

The mountain moon accompanies us home. 

We turn and look back up the path : 

Green, green, the sky; the horizontal, kingfisher-green line 
of the hills is fading. 

Holding each other's hands, we reach the house in the fields. 

Little boys throw open the gate of thorn branches, 

The quiet path winds among dark bamboos. 

Creepers, bright with new green, brush our garments. 

Our words are happy, rest is in them. 

Of an excellent flavour, the wine! We scatter the dregs of it 
contentedly. 

We sing songs for a long time; we chant them to the wind 
in the pine-trees. 

By the time the songs are finished, the stars in Heaven's River 
are few. 

I am tipsy. My friend is continuously merry. 

In fact, we are so exhilarated that we both forget this com- 
plicated machine, the world. 

51 



THE TERRACED ROAD OF THE TWO-EDGED 

SWORD MOUNTAINS 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

Looking South and straight from Hsien Yang for five thou- 
sand //, 
One could see, among the full, blowing clouds, the rocky 

sharpness of peaks. 
Were it not for the horizontal line of the Two-Edged Sword 

Mountains cutting across the view. 
They are flat against the green sky, and open in the middle 

to let the sky through. 
On their heights, the wind whistles awesomely in the pines ; 

it booms in great, long gusts; it clashes like the 

strings of a jade-stone psaltery; it shouts on the 

clearness of a gale. 
In the Serpent River country, the gibbons — Oh-h-h-h-h — 

all the gibbons together moan and grieve. 
Beside the road, torrents flung from a great height rush down 

the gully, 
They toss stones and spray over the road, they run rapidly, 

they whirl, they startle with the noise of thunder. 
I bid good-bye to my devoted friend — Oh-h-h-h-h — now 

he leaves me. 
When will he come again? Oh-h-h-h-h — When will he 

return to me? 

52 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I hope for my dear friend the utmost peace. 

My voice is heavy, I sigh and draw my breath haltingly. 

I look at the green surface of the water flowing to the East. 

I grieve that the white sun hides in the West. 

The wild goose has taken the place of the swallow — 

Oh-h-h-h-h — I hear the pattering, falling noises of 

Autumn. 
Dark are the rain clouds ; the colour of the town of Ch'in 

is dark. 
When the moon glistens on the Road of the Two-Edged 

Sword — Oh-h-h-h-h — 
I and you, even though in different provinces, may drink 

our wine opposite each other, 
And listen to the talking 
Of our hearts. 



53 



HEARING. A BAMBOO FLUTE ON A SPRING 
NIGHT IN THE CITY OF LO YANG 



BY LI t'aI-PO 



From whose house do the invisible notes of a jade flute come 
flying? 

The Spring wind scatters them. They fill the City of Lo 
Yang. 

To-night, as the phrases form, I hear "The Snapped Wil- 
low." 

To whom do they not bring back the love of his old, early 
garden? 



54 



THE RETREAT OF HSIEH RUNG 
BY LI t'aI-PO 

The sun is setting — has set — on the Spring-green Moun- 
tain. 

Hsieh Kung's retreat is solitary and still. 

No sound of man in the bamboo grove. 

The white moon shines in the centre of the unused garden 
pool. 

All round the ruined Summer-house is decaying grass, 

Grey mosses choke the abandoned well. 

There is only the free, clear wind 

Again — again — passing over the stones of the spring. 



55 



A TRAVELLER COMES TO THE OLD TERRACE 

OF SU 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

The old Imperial Park — the ruined Terrace — the young 
willows. 

The water-chestnut pickers are singing, a simple song unac- 
companied by instruments — but joy is unbearable. 

For now the moon over the Western River is alone. 

The time is past when she gazed upon the concubines in the 
Palace of the King of Wu. 



56 



THEME OF THE REST-HOUSE ON THE CLEAR 

WAN RIVER 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



I LOVE the beauty of the Wan River. 

One can see its clear heart shining a hundred feet deep. 

In what way does it not equal the river Hsin An ? 

For a thousand times eight feet one can see its bright bed. 

The white sand keeps the colour of the moon. 

The dark green bamboos accentuate the Autumn sounds. 

Really one cannot help laughing to think that, until now, 

the rapid current celebrated by Yen 
Has usurped all the fame. 



57 



DRINKING SONG 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



Do you not see the waters of the Yellow River coming down 

6rom Heaven? 
They rush with incredible speed to the sea, and they never 

turn and come back again. 
Do you not see, in the clear mirror of the Guest Hall, the 

miserable white hair on my head? 
At dawn it is like shining thread, but at sunset it is snow. 
In this life, to be perfectly happy, one must drain one^s 

pleasures; 
The golden wine-cup must not stand empty opposite the 

moon. 
Heaven put us here, we must use what we have. 
Scatter a thousand ounces of silver and you are but where 

you were. 
Boil the sheep, 
Kill the ox. 
Be merry. 

We should drink three hundred cups at once. 
Mr. Wise Gentleman Ts^en, 
And you, Mr. Scholar Tan ChMu, 
Drink, you must not stop. 
I will sing one of my poems for you, 
Please lean over and listen: 

58 



Fm-FLOWER TABLETS 

"Bells! Drums! Delicacies 
Worth their weight in jade — 
These things 

Are of the slightest value. 
I only want to be drunk 
For ages and never wake. 
The sages and wortliies of old times 
Have left not a sound. 
Only those who drank 
Have achieved lasting fame. 
The King of Ch'en, long ago, caroused 
In the Hall of Peaceful Content. 
They drank wine paid 
At a full ten thousand a gallon ; 
They surpassed themselves in mirth, 
And the telling of obscene stories. 
How can a host say 
He has very little money. 
It is absolutely imperative 
That he buy wine for his friends. 
Horses of five colours, dappled flower horses. 
Fur coats costing 
A thousand ounces of silver — 
He sends his son to exchange 
All these for delectable wine, 
So that you and I together 
May drown our ancient grief." 

59 



ANSWER TO AN AFFECTIONATE INVITATION 

FROM TS'UI FIFTEEN 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



You have the " bird's foot-print " characters. 

You suggest that we drink together at the Lute Stream. 

The characters you wrote are in the centre of a foot of pure 

white silk, 
They are like exquisite clouds dropped from Heaven. 
Having finished reading, I smile at the empty air, 
I feel as though my friend were before me 
Reciting verses for a long time. 
The characters are not faded. I shall keep them in my sleeve, 

and they should last three years. 



60 



PARROT ISLAND 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

The parrots come, they cross the river waters of Wu. 
The island in the river is called Parrot Island. 
The parrots are flying West to the Dragon Mountain. 
There are sweet grasses on the island, and how green, green, 
are its trees! 

The mists part and one can see the leaves of the spear-orchid, 
and its scent is warm on the wind; 

The water is embroidered and shot with the reflections of the 
peach-tree blossoms growing on both banks. 

Now indeed does the departing ofiicial realize the full mean- 
ing of his banishment. 

The long island — the solitary moon — facing each other in 
the brightness. 



61 



THE HONOURABLE LADY CHAO 



BY LI T AI-PO 

Moon over the houses of Han, over the site of Ch'in. 

It flows as water — its brightness shone on Ming Fei, the 
'' Bright Concubine, " 

Who took the road to the Jade Pass. 

She went to the edge of Heaven, but she did not return ; 

She gave up the moon of Han, she departed from the East- 
em Sea. 

The ''Bright Concubine" married in the West, and the day 
of her returning never came. 

For her beautiful painted face, there was the long, cold snow 
instead of flowers. 

She, with eyebrows like the antennae of moths, pined and 
withered. 

Her grave is in the sand of the Barbarians' country. 

Because, when alive, she did not pay out yellow gold, 

The portrait painted of her was distorted. 

Now she is dead no one can prevent the bright green grass 
from spreading over her grave, 

And men weep because of it. 



62 



THINKING OF THE FRONTIER 

BY LI T'aI-PO 

At what season last year did my Lord leave his Unworthy 
One? 

In the Southern garden, the butterflies were fluttering in the 
young green grass. 

Now, this year, at what season does the Unworthy One cher- 
ish thoughts of her Lord? 

There is white snow on the Western hills and the clouds of 
Ch'in are dark. 

It is three thousand it from here to the Jade Barrier, 

I desire to send the "harmonious writings," but how can 
they reach you? 



63 



A SONG OF RESENTMENT 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

At fifteen, she entered the Palace of Han, 

Her flower-face was like a river in Spring. 

The Prince chose her of the jade colour 

To attend his rest within the embroidered screen. 

As she presented the pillow, she was lovely as the evening 

moon. 
He who wears the dragon robes delighted in the sweetly 

scented wind of her garments. 
How was it possible for the " Flying Swallow " to snatch 

the Emperor's love? 
Jealousy unending! Profoundest grief which can so wound a 

person 
And turn the black cloud head-dress to frosted thistledown! 

If, for one day, our desires be not satisfied. 
Verily the things of the world are nothing. 
Change the duck-feather dress for sweet wine. 
Cease to embroider dragons on the dresses for the wu dance. 
She is chilly with bitterness. 
Words cannot be endured. 

For one's Lord one plays the table-lute of wu-t'ung wood 
with strings of silk, 

64 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

But when one's bowels are torn with grief, the strings also 

break. 
Grief in the heart at night is anguish and despair. 



65 



PICKING WILLOW 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

The drooping willow brushes the very clear water, 
Beautifully it flickers in this East-wind time of the year. 
Its flowers are bright as the snow of the Jade Pass, 
Its leaves soft as smoke against the gold window. 
She, the Lovely One, bound in her long thoughts; 
Facing them, her heart is burnt with grief. 
Pull down a branch. 
Gather the Spring colour 
And send it £ir. 
Even to that place 
Before the Dragon Gate. 



66 



AUTUMN RIVER SONG 

ON THE BROAD REACH 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

In the clear green water — the shimmering moon. 
In the moonlight — white herons flying. 
A young man hears a girl plucking water-chestnuts; 
They paddle home together through the night, singing. 



67 



VISITING THE TAOIST PRIEST ON THE 
MOUNTAIN WHICH UPHOLDS HEAVEN, 

HE IS ABSENT 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

A DOG, 

A dog barking. 

And the sound of rushing water. 

How dark and rich the peach-flowers after the rain. 

Every now and then, between the trees, I see deer. 

Tweh'c o'clock, but I hear no bell in the ravine. 

Wild bamboos slit the blue-green of a cloudy sky. 

The water&ll hangs against the jade-green peak. 

Tho^ is no one to tell me where he has gone. 

I lean against the pine-trees grieving. 



68 



REPLY TO AN UNREFINED PERSON 
ENCOUNTERED IN THE HILLS 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

He asks why I perch in the green jade hills. 

I smile and do not answer. My heart is comfortable and at 

peace. 
Fallen peach-flowers spread out widely, widely, over the 

water. 
It is another sky and earth, not the world of man. 



69 



RECITING VERSES BY MOONLIGHT IN A 

WESTERN UPPER CHAMBER IN THE 

CITY OF THE GOLDEN MOUND 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



The night is still in Chin Ling, a cool wind blows. 
I am alone in a high room, gazing over Wu and Yiieh. 
White clouds shine on the water and blur the reflection of 

the still city. 
The cold dew soaks my clothes, Autumn moonlight is damp. 
In the moonlight, murmuring poems, one loses count of time. 
From old days until now, people who can really see with 

their eyes are few, 
Those who understand and speak of a clear river as being 

bright as silk. 
I suggest that men meditate at length on Hsieh Hsuan Hui. 



70 



PASSING THE NIGHT AT THE WHITE HERON 

ISLAND 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

At dawn, I left the Red Bird Gate ; 

At sunset, I came to roost on the White Heron Island. 

The image of the moon tumbles along the bright surface of 

the water. 
The Tower above the City Gate is lost in the twinkling 

light of the stars. 
I gaze far off, toward my beloved, the Official of Chin Ling, 
And the longing in my heart is like that for the Green Jasper 

Tree. 
It is useless to tell my soul to dream; 
When it comes back, it will feel the night turned to Autumn. 
The green water understands my thoughts, 
For me it flows to the Northwest. 
Because of this, the sounds of my jade table-lute 
Will follow the flowing of its current and carry my grief to 

my friend. 



n 



ASCENDING THE THREE CHASMS 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

The Sorceress Mountain presses against Green Heaven. 

The Serpent River runs terribly fast. 

The Serpent River can be suddenly exhausted. 

The time may never come when we shall arrive at the Green 

Heaven. 
Three dawns shine upon the Yellow Ox. 
Three sunsets — and we go so slowly. 
Three dawns — again three sunsets — 
And we do not notice that our hair is white as nlk. 



72 



PARTING FROM YANG, A HILL MAN WHO IS 
RETURNING TO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



There is one place which is an everlasting home to me: 

The Jade Woman Peak on the High Southern Mountain. 

Often, a wide, flat moonlight 

Hangs upon the pines of the whirling Eastern stream. 

You are going to pick the fairy grasses 

And the shooting purple flower of the cKang fu. 

After a year, perhaps, you will come to see me 
Riding down ft*om the green-blue Heaven on a white 
dragon. 



73 



NIGHT THOUGHTS 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



In front of my bed the moonlight is very bright. 
I wonder if that can be frost on the floor ? 
I lift up my head and look full at the full moon, die daz- 
zling moon. 
I drop my head, and think of die home of old days. 



74 



THE SERPENT MOUND 

SENT AS A PRESENT TO CHIA THE SECRETARY 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

Chia, the Scholar, gazes into the West, thinking of the 

splendour of the Capitol. 
Although you have been transferred to the broad reaches of 

the river Hsiang, you must not sigh in resentment. 
The mercy of the Sainted Lord is far greater than that of 

Han Wen Ti. 
The Princely One had pity, and did not appoint you to the 

station of the Unending Sands. 



75 



ON THE SUBJECT OF OLD TAPS WINEr-SHOP 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

Old Tai is gone down to the Yellow Springs. 
Yet he must still wish to make " Great Spring Wine." 
There is no Li Po on the terrace of Eternal Darkness. 
To whom, then, will he sell his wine? 



re 



DRINKING IN THE TAO PAVILION 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



The house of the lonely scholar is in the winding lane. 

The great scholar's gate is very high. 

The garden pool lies and shines like the magic gall mirror; 

Groves of trees throw up flowers with wide, open faces ; 

The leaf-coloured water draws the Spring sun. 

Sitting in the green, covered passage-way, watching the 

strange, red clouds of evening. 
Listening to the lovely music of flageolets and strings, 
The Golden Valley is not much to boast of. 



rr 



■jd 



A SONG FOR THE HOUR WHEN THE CROWS 

ROOST 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

This is the hour when the crows come to roost on the Ku Su 

Terrace. 
In his Palace, the King of Wu is drinking with Hsi Shih. 
Songs of Wu — posturings. of Ch'u dances — and yet the 

revels are not finished. 
But already the bright hills hold half of the sun between their 

lips, 
The silver-white arrow- tablet above the gold-coloured brass 

jar of the water-clock marks the dripping of much 

water, 
And, rising, one can see the Autumn moon sliding beneath the 

ripples of the river. 
While slowlv the sun mounts in the East — 
What hope for the revels now ? 



78 



POEM SENT TO THE OFFICIAL WANG OF 

HAN YANG 

I 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

The Autumn moon was white upon the Southern Lake. 
That night the Official Wang sent me an invitation. 
Behind the embroidered bed-curtain lay the Official Secretary 

— drunk. 
The woven dresses of the beautiful girls who performed the 

wu dance took charming lines, 
The shrill notes of the bambck) flute reached to Mien and O, 
The phrases of the songs rose up to the silent clouds. 
Now that we are parted, I grieve. 
We think of each other a single piece of water distant. 



79 



DRINKING ALONE ON THE ROCK IN THE 
RIVER OF THE CLEAR STREAM 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

I HAVE a flagon of wine in my hand. 

I am alone on the Ancestor Rock in the river. 

Since the time when Heaven and Earth were divided. 

How many thousand feet has the rock grown ? 

I lift my cup to Heaven and smile. 

Heaven turns round, the sun shines in the West. 

I am willing to sit on this rock forever, 

Perpetually casting my fish-line like Yen Ling. 

Send and ask the man in the midst of the hills 

Whether we are not in harmony, both pursuing the same thing. 



80 



j**^ 



A FAREWELL BANQUET TO MY FATHER'S 
YOUNGER BROTHER Yt)N, THE IMPERIAL 

LIBRARIAN 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

When I was young, I spent the white days lavishly. 

I sang — I laughed — I boasted of my ruddy face. 

I do not realize that now, suddenly, I am old. 

With joy I see the Spring wind return. 

It is a pity that we must part, but let us make the best of it 

and be happy. 
We walk to and fro among the peach-trees and plum-trees. 
We look at the flowers and drink excellent wine. 
We listen to the birds and climb a little way up the bright 

hills. 
Sooii evening comes and the bamboo grove is silent. 
There is no one— I shut my door. 



81 



IN THE PROVINCE OF LU, TO THE EAST OF 
THE STONE GATE MOUNTAIN, TAKING 

LEAVE OF TU FU 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

When drunk, we were divided ; but we have been together 

again for several days. 
We have climbed everywhere, to every pool and ledge. 
When, on the Stone Gate Road, 
Shall we pour from the golden flagon again? 
The Autumn leaves drop into the Four Waters, 
The Ch'u Mountain is brightly reflected in the colour of the 

lake. 
We are flying like thistledown, each to a different distance; 
Pending this, we drain the cups in our hands. 



82 



THE MOON OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASS 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

The bright moon rises behind the Heaven-high Mountain, 

A sea of clouds blows along the pale, wide sky. 

The far-off wind has come from nearly ten thousand /i, 

It has blown across the Jade Gate Pass. 

Down the Po Teng Road went the people of Han 

To waylay the men of Hu beside the Bright Green Bay. 

From the beginning, of those who go into battle. 

Not one man is seen returning. 

The exiled Official gazes at the frontier town. 

He thinks of his return home, and his face is very bitter. 

Surely to-night, in the distant cupola, 

He sighs, and draws heavy breaths. How then can rest be his? 



83 



THE TAKING-UP OF ARMS 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

A HUNDRED battles, the sandy fields of battles, armour broken 
into fragments. 

To the South of the city they are already shut in and sur- 
rounded by many layers of men. 

They rush out from their cantonments. They shoot and kill 
the General of the Barbarians. 

A single officer leads the routed soldiers of the ^^ Thousand 
Horsemen" returning whence they came. 



84 



A SONG OF THE REST-HOUSE OF DEEP 

TROUBLE 

N 

BY LI T'aI-PO 

At Chin Ling, the tavern where travellers part is called the 

Rest-House of Deep Trouble. 
The creeping grass spreads far, far, from the roadside where 

it started. 
There is no end to the ancient sorrow, as water flows to the 

£ast. 
Grief is in the wind of this place, burning grief in the white 

aspen. ' 
Like K'ang Lo I climb on board the dull travelling boat. 
I hum softly " On the Clear Streams Flies the Night Frost." 
It is said that, long ago, on the Ox Island Hill, songs were 

sung which blended the five colours. 
Now do I not equal Hsieh, and the youth of the House of 

Yiian? 
The bitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the 

Autumn moonlight. 
I pass the night alone, desolate behind the reed-blinds, and 

dream of returning to my distant home. 



85 



TH^ "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old, 

Full of grief, she stands in the glorious morning light. 

The dew is like the tears of to-day; 

The mosses like the garments of years ago. 

Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River; 

Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch'u. 

Still and solitary in the sweet-scented mist, 

As if waiting for her husband^s return. 



86 



AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

How many Springs have we been apart ? You do not come 

home. 
Five times have I seen the cherry-blossoms from the jade 

window, 
Besides there are the '' embroidered character letters." 
You must sigh as you break the seals. 
When this happens, the agony of my longing must stop your 

heart. 
I have ceased to wear the cloud head-dress. I have stopped 

combing and dressing the green-black hair on my 

temples. 
My sorrow is like a whirling gale — like a flurry of white 

snow. 
Last year I sent a letter to the Hill of the Bright Ledge telling 

you these things ; 
The letter I send this year will again implore you. 

East wind — Oh-h-h-h ! 
East wind, blow for me. 
Make the floating cloud come Westward. 
I wait his coming, and he does not come. 
The fallen flower lies quietly, quietly, thrown upon the green 
moss. 

B7 



BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PAIACE OF THE 

HIGH GATE 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

I 

The Heavens have revolved. The '* Northern Measure " hangs 

above the Western wing. 
In the Gold House, there is no one ; fireflies flit to and fro. 
Moonlight seeks to enter the Palace of the High Gate, 
To one in the centre of the Palace it brings an added grief. 

II 

Unending grief in the Cassia Hall. Spring is forgotten. 
Autumn dust rises up on the four sides of the Yellow Gold 

House. 
At night, the bright mirror hangs against a dark sky; 
It shines upon the solitary one in the Palace of the High Gate. 



88 



ETERNALLY THINKING OF EACH OTHER 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

(^The Woman Speaks) 
The colour of the day is over; flowers hold the mist in their 

lips. 
The bright moon is like glistening silk. I cannot sleep for grief. 
The tones of the Chao psaltery begin and end on the bridge 

of the silver-crested love-pheasant. 
I wish I could play my Shu table-lute on the mandarin duck 

strings. 
The meaning of this music — there is no one to receive it. 
I desire my thoughts to follow the Spring wind, even to the 

Swallow Mountains. 
I think of my Lord far, far away, remote as the Green 

Heaven. 
In old days, my eyes were like horizontal waves; 
Now they flow, a spring of tears. 
If you do not believe that the bowels of your Unworthy One 

are torn and severed. 
Return and take up the bright mirror I was wont to use. 

( The Man Speaks) 
We think of each other etemallv. 
My thoughts are at Chiang An. 

89 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

The Autumn cricket chirps beside the railing of the Golden 

Well ; 
The light frost is chilly, chilly; the colour of the bamboo 

sleeping mat is cold. 
The neglected lamp does not bum brightly. My thoughts seem 

broken off. 
I roll up the long curtain and look at the moon — it is useless, 

I sigh continually. 
The Beautiful, Flower-like One is as far from me as the dis- 
tance of the clouds. 
Above is the brilliant darkness of a high sky, 
Below is the rippling surface of the clear water. 
Heaven is far and the road to it is long; it is difficult for a 

man^s soul to compass it in flight. 
Even in a dream my spirit cannot cross the grievous barrier of 

hills. 
We think of each other eternally. 
My heart and my liver are snapped in two. 



90 



PASSIONATE GRIEF 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



Beautiful is this woman who rolls up the pearl-reed blind. 

She sits in an inner chamber, 

And her eyebrows, delicate as a moth's antennae, 

Are drawn with grief. 

One sees only the wet lines of tears. 

For whom does she suffer this misery? 

We do not know. 



91 



SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZU LIKE AN 

IDOL" 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



The trees in the level forest stand in rows and rows, 

The mist weaves through them. 

The jade-green of the cold hillside country hurts one's heart. 

Night colour drifts into the high cupola. 

In the cupola, a man grieves. 

I stand — stand — on the jade steps, doing nothing. 
The birds are flying quickly to roost. 
There is the road I should follow if I were going home. 
Instead, for me, the " long " rest-houses alternate with the 
*' short" rest-houses. 



92 



AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING 

LEAVE OF M^NG HAO JAN ON HIS 

DEPARTURE TO KUANG LING 

BY LI t'aI-PO 

I TAKE leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower. 
In the flower-smelling mist of the Third Month he will arrive 

at Yang Chou. 
The single sail is shining far off — it is extinguished in the 

jade-coloured distance, 
I see only the long river flowing to the edge of Heaven. 



93 



.»iiM 



IN DEEP THOUGHT, GAZING AT THE MOON 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

The clear spring reflects the thin, wide-spreading pine-tree — 

And for how many thousand, thousand years? 

No one knows. 

The late Autumn moon shivers along the little water ripples. 

The brilliance of it flows in through the window. 

Before it I »t for a long time absent-mindedly chanting, 

Thinking of my friend — 

What deep thoughts ! 

There is no way to see him. How then can we speak together ? 

Joy is dead. Sorrow is the heart of man. 



94 



THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND U 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu. 

Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han* 

Far, far, the Five Spring Pass, 

Sorrowful to see the flower-like snow. 

He is gone, separated, by a distant country, 

But his thoughts return, 

Long sighing in grief. 

Toward the Northwest 

Wild geese are flying. 

If I sent a letter — so — to the edge of Heaven. 



95 



WORD-PATTERN 



BY LI T*AI-PO 



The Autumn wind is fresh and clear; 

The Autumn moon is bright. 

Fallen leaves whirl together and scatter. 

The jackdaws, who have gone to roost, are startled again. 

We are thinking of each other, but when shall we see each 

other? 
Now, to-night, I suffer, because of my passion. 



96 



-.fji^kk 



THE HEAVEN'S GATE MOUNTAINS 

BY LI T'aI-PO 

In the far distance, the mountains seem to rise out of the river; 
Two peaks, standing opposite each other, make a natural 

gateway. 
The cold colour of the pines is reflected between the river-banks, 
Stones divide the current and shiver the wave-flowers to 

fi-agments. 
Far off, at the border of Heaven, is the uneven line of 

mountain-pinnacles ; 
Beyond, the bright sky is a blur of rose-tinted clouds. 
The sun sets, and the boat goes on and on — 
As I turn my head, the mountains sink down into the brilliance 
' of the cloud-covered sky. 



97 



;^ 



POEM SENT ON HEARING THAT WANG 
CH'ANG-LING HAD BEEN EXILED TO 

LUNG PIAO 

BY LI t'ai-PO 

In Yang Chou, the blossoms are dropping. The night-jar calls. 
I hear it said that you are going to Lung Piao — that you will 

cross the Five Streams. 
I fling the grief of my heart up to the bright moon 
That it may follow the wind and arrive, straight as eyesight, 

to the West of Yeh Lang. 



98 



A PARTING GIFT TO WANG LUN 
BY LI t'aI-PO 

Li Po gets into a small boat — he is on the point of starting. 
Suddenly he hears footsteps on the bank and the sound of 

singing. 
The Peach-Flower Pool is a thousand feet deep, 
Yet it is not greater than the emotion of Wang Lun as he takes 

leave of me. 



99 




SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS 

GOING ON AN EXCURSION TO THE 

PLUM-FLOWER LAKE 

BY LI T*AI-PO 

I BID you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on an excursion 

to the Plum-Flower Lake. 
You should see the plum-blossoms open; 
It is understood that you hire a person to bring me some. 
You must not permit the rose-red fragrance to fade. 
You will only be at the New Forest Reach a little time, 
Since we have agreed to drink at the City of the Golden Mound 

at full moon. 
Nevertheless you must not omit the wild-goose letter, 
Or else our knowledge of each other will be as the dust of Hu 

to the dust of Yueh. 



100 



A POEM SENT TO TU FU FROM 
SHA CHIU CH'ENG 



BY LI t'ai-PO 



After all, what have I come here to do ? 

To lie and meditate at Sha Ch'iu Ch'eng. 

Near the city are ancient trees, 

And day and night are continuous with Autumn noises. 

One cannot get drunk on Lu wine. 

The songs of Ch'i have no power to excite emotion. 

I think of my friend, and my thoughts are like the Wen River, 

Mightily moving, directed toward the South. 



101 



>^ 



BIDDING GOOD-BYE TO YIN SHU 
BY LI T*AI-PO 

Before the White Heron Island — the moon. 

At dawn to-morrow I shall bid good-bye to the returning 

traveller. 
The sky is growing bright. 
The sun is behind the Green Dragon Hill; 
Head high it pushes out of the sea clouds and appears. 
Flowing water runs without emotions, 
The sail which will carry him away meets the wind and fills. 
We watch it together. We cannot bear to be separated. 
Again we pledge each other from the cups we hold in our 

hands. 



102 



A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE Fl^NG HSIEN 
TEMPLE AT THE DRAGON'S GATE 

BY TU FU 

I HAD already wandered away from the People's Temple, 

But I was obliged to sleep within the temple precincts. 

The dark ravine was full of the music of silence, 

The moon scattered bright shadows through the forest. 

The Great Gate against the sky iseemed to impinge upon the 

paths of the planets. 
Sleeping among the clouds, my upper garments, my lower 

garments, were cold. 
Wishing to wak6, 1 heard the sunrise bell 
Commanding men to come forth and examine themselves in 

meditation. 



103 



THE THATCHED HOUSE U>fROOFED BY AN 

AUTUMN GALE 

BY TU FU 

It is the Eighth Month, the very height of Autumn. 

The wind rages and roars. 

It tears off three layers of my grass-roof. 

The thatch flies — it crosses the river — it is scattered about 

in the open spaces by the river. 
High-flying, it hangs, tangled and floating, from the tops of 

forest trees ; 
Low-flying, it whirls — turns — and sinks into the hollows of 

the marsh. 
The swarm of small boys from the South Village laugh at me 

because I am old and feeble. 
How dare they act like thieves and robbers before my face, 
Openly seizing my thatch and running into my bamboo grove ? 
My lips are scorched, my mouth dry, I scream at them, but to 

no purpose. 
I return, leaning on my staff. I sigh and breathe heavily. 

Presently, of a sudden, the wind ceases. The clouds are the 

colour of ink. 
The Autumn sky is endless — endless — stretching toward 

dusk and night. 

104 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

My old cotton quilt is as cold as iron; 

My restless son sleeps a troubled sleep, his moving foot tears 

the quilt. 
Over the head of the bed is a leak. Not a place is dry. 
The rain streams and stands like hemp — there is no break in 

its falling. 
Since this misery and confusion, I have scarcely slept or dozed. 
All the long night, I am soaking wet. When will the light begin 

to sift in ? 
If one could have a great house of one thousand, ten thousand 

rooms — 
A great shelter where all the Empire's shivering scholars could 

have happy faces — 
Not moved by wind or rain, solid as a mountain — 
Alas! When shall I see that house standing before my eyes? 
Then, although my own hut were destroyed, although I might 

freeze and die, I should be satisfied. 



105 



THE RIVER VILLAGE 
BY TU FU 

The river makes a bend and encircles the village with its 

current. 
All the long Summer, the affairs and occupations of the river 

village are quiet and simple. 
The swallows who nest in the beams go and come as they 

please. 
The gulls in the middle of the river enjoy one another, they 

crowd together and touch one another. 
My old wife paints a chess-board on paper. 
My little sons hammer needles to make fish-hooks. 
I have many illnesses, therefore my only necessities are 

medicines ; 
Besides these, what more can so humble a man as I ask? 



106 



THE EXCURSION 

A NUMBER OF YOUNG GENTLEMEN OF RANK, ACCOMPANIED 

BY SINGING-GIRLS, GO OUT TO ENJOY THE COOL OF 

EVENING. THEY ENCOUNTER A SHOWER OF RAIN 

BY TU FU 

I 

How delightful, at sunset, to loosen the boat! 

A light wind is slow to raise waves. 

Deep in the bamboo grove, the guests linger; 

The lotus-flowers are pure and bright in the cool evening air. 

The young nobles stir the ice- water; 

The Beautiful Ones wash the lotus-roots, whose fibres are like 

silk threads. 
A layer of clouds above our heads is black. 
It will certainly rain, which impels me to write this poem. 

II 

The rain comes, soaking the mats upon which we are sitting. 
A hurrying wind strikes the bow of the boat. 
The rose-red rouge of the ladies from Yiieh is wet ; 
The Yen beauties are anxious about their kingfisher-eyebrows. 
We throw out a rope and draw in to the sloping bank. We 
tie the boat to the willow-trees. 

lor 



Fm-FLOWER TABLETS 

We roll up the curtains and watch the floating wave-flowers. 
Oiu- return is different from our setting out. The wind whistles 

and blows in great gusts. 
By the time we reach the shore, it seems as though the Fifth 

Month were Autumn. 



108 



THE RECRUITING OFFICERS AT THE VILLAGE 

OF THE STONE MOAT 

BY TU FU 

I SOUGHT a lodging for the night, at sunset, in the Stone Moat 

Village. 
Recruiting Officers, who seize people by night, were there. 
A venerable old man climbed over the wall and fled. 
An old woman came out of the door and peered. 
What rage in the shouts of the Recruiting Officers ! 
What bitterness in the weeping of the old woman ! 
I heard the words of the woman as she pled her cause before 

them: 
*' My three sons are with the frontier guard at Yeh Ch'eng. 
From one son I have received a letter. 
A little while ago, two sons died in battle. 
He who remains has stolen a temporary lease of life; 
The dead are finished forever. 
In the house, there is still no grown man. 
Only my grandson at the breast. 
The mother of my grandson has not gone. 
Going out, coming in, she has not a single whole skirt. 
I am an old, old woman, and my strength is failing. 
But I beg to go with the Recruiting Officers when they return 

this night. 

109 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I will eagerly agree to act as a servant at Ho Yang; 

I am still able to prepare the early morning meal." 

The sound of words ceased in the long night, 

It was as though I heard the darkness choke with tears. 

At daybreak, I went on my way, 

Only the venerable old man was left. 



110 



CROSSING THE FRONTIER 
BY TU FU 

I 

When bows are bent, they should be bent strongly; 

When arrows are used, they should be long. 

The bow-men should first shoot the horses. 

In taking the enemy prisoner, the Leader should first be taken ; 

There should be no limit to the killing of men. 

In making a kingdom, there must naturally be a boundary. 

If it were possible to regulate usurpation. 

Would so many be killed and wounded ? 



Ill 



CROSSING THE FRONTIER 
BY TU FU 

II 

At dawn, the conscripted soldiers enter the camp outside the 

Eastern Gate. 
At sunset, they cross the bridge of Ho Yang. 
The setting sunlight is reflected on the great flags. 
Horses neigh. The wind whines — whines — 
Ten thousand tents are spread along the level sand. 
Oflicers instruct their companies. 
The bright moon hangs in the middle of the sky. 
The written orders are strict that the night shall be still and 

empty. 
Sadness everywhere. A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet 

jar the air. 
The strong soldiers are no longer proud, they quiver with 

sadness. 
May one ask who is their General ? 
Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao. 



112 



THE SORCERESS GORGE 
BY TU FU 

Jade dew lies upon the withered and wounded forest of maple- 
trees. 

On the Sorceress Hill, over the Sorceress Gorge, the mist is 
desolate and dark. 

The ripples of the river increase into waves and blur with the 
rapidly flowing sky. 

The wind-clouds at the horizon become confused with the 
Earth. Darkness. 

The myriad chrysanthemums have bloomed twice. Days to 
come — tears. 

The solitary little boat is moored, but my heart is in the old- 
time garden. 

Everywhere people are hastening to measure and cut out their 
Winter clothes. 

At sunset, in the high City of the White Emperor, the hurried 
pounding of washed garments. 



113 



THINKING OF LI PO ON A SPRING DAY 

BY TU FU 

The poems of Po are unequalled. 

His thoughts are never categorical, but fly high in the wind. 
His poems are clear and fresh as those of Yii, the official ; 
They are fine and easy as those of Pao, the military counsellor. 
I am North of the river Wei, looking at the Spring trees ; 
You are East of the river, watching the sunset clouds. 
When shall we meet over a jug of wine? 
When shall I have another precious discussion of literature 
with you? 



114 



AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. THINKING OF 

U T'AI-PO 

BY TU FU 

A COLD wind blows up from the edge of Heaven. 
The state of mind of the superior man is what? 
When does the wild goose arrive ? 
Autumn water flows high in the rivers and lakes. 

They hated your essay — yet your fate was to succeed. 
The demons where you are rejoice to see men go by. 
You should hold speech with the soul of Yiian, 
And toss a poem into the Mi Lo River as a gift to him. 



115 



SENT TO U PO AS A GIFT 

BY TU FU 

Autumn comes, 

We meet each other. 

You still whirl about as a thistledown in the wind. 

Your Elixir of Immortality is not yet perfected 

And, remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed. 

You drink a great deal, 

You sing wild songs. 

Your days pass in emptiness. 

Your nature is a spreading fire, 

It is swift and strenuous. 

But what does all this bravery amount to i 



116 



A TOAST FOR M^NG YUN-CH'ING 

BY TU FU 

Illimitable happiness, 

But grief for our white heads. 

We love the long watches of the night, the red candle. 

It would be difficult to have too much of meeting, 

Let us not be in a hurry to talk of separation. 

But because the Heaven River will sink. 

We had better empty the wine-cups. 

To-morrow, at bright dawn, the world's business will entangle 

us. 
We brush away our tears, 
We go — East and West. 



iir 



MOON NIGHT 
BY TU FU 

To-night — the moon at Fu Chou. 
In the centre of the Women's Apartments 
There is only one to look at it. 
I am far away, but I love my little son, my daughter. 
They cannot understand and think of Ch'ang An. 
The sweet-smelling mist makes the cloud head-dress damp, 
The jade arm must be chilly 
In this clear, glorious shining. 
When shall I lean on the lonely screen i 
When shall we both be shone upon, and the scars of tears be 
dry? 



118 



HEARING THE EARLY ORIOLE (WRITTEN IN 

EXILE) 

BY PO CHU-I 

The sun rose while I slept. I had not yet risen 

When I heard an early oriole above the roof of my house. 

Suddenly it was like the Royal Park at dawn, 

With birds calling from the branches of the ten- thousand-year 

trees. 
I thought of my time as a Court Official 
When I was meticulous with my pencil in the Audience Hall. 
At the height of Spring, in occasional moments of leisure, 
I would look at the grass and growing things, 
And at dawn and at dusk I would hear this sound. 
Where do I hear it now? 
In the lonely solitude of the City of Hsiin Yang. 
The bird's song is certainly the same. 
The change is in the emotions of the man. 
If I could only stop thinking that I am at the ends of the earth, 
I wonder, would it be so different from the Palace after all ? 



119 



THE CITY OF STONES. (NANKING) 

BY LIU YiJ-HSI (] 7 '^ • ? ^< 1 ^ 

Hills surround the ancient kingdom; they never change. 
The tide beats against the empty city, and silently, silently, 

returns. 
To the East, over the Huai River — the ancient moon. 
Through the long, quiet night it moves^ crossing the battle- 

mented wall. 



120 



SUNG TO THE TUNE OF "THE UNRIPE 
HAWTHORN BERRY" 

BY NIU HSI-CHI 

Mist is trying to hide the Spring-coloured hills, 

The sky is pale, the stars are scattered and few. 

The moon is broken and fading, yet there is light on your face. 

These are the tears of separation, for now it is bright dawn. 

We have said many words. 
But our passion is not assuaged. 
Turn your head, I have still something to say: 
Remember my skirt of green open-work silk. 
The sweet-scented grasses everywhere will prevent your for- 
getting. 



121 



WRITTEN BY WANG WEI, IN THE MANNER 

OF CHIA, THE (PALACE) SECRETARY, 

AFTER AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE 

AT DAWN IN THE "PALACE 

OF GREAT BRILLIANCE '* 

At the first light of the still-concealed sun, the Cock-man, in 

his dark-red cap, strikes the tally-sticks and pro- 
claims aloud the hour. 
At this exact moment, the Keeper of the Robes sends in the 

eider-duck skin dress, with its cloud-like curving 

feather-scales of kingfisher green. 
In the Ninth Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate opens; so do those 

of the Palaces, and the Halls of Ceremony in the 

Palaces. 
The ten thousand kingdoms send their ambassadors in the dresses 

and caps of their ranks to do reverence before the 

pearl-stringed head-dress. 
The inmiediately-arrived sun tips the *' Immortal Palm "; it 

glitters. 
Sweet-scented smoke rises and flows about the Emperor's 

ceremonial robes, making the dragons writhe. 
The audience ended, I wish to cut the paper of five colours 

and write upon it the words of the Son of Heaven. 
My jade girdle-ornaments clash sweetly as I return to sit beside 

the Pool of the Crested Love-Pheasant. 

122 



THE BLUE-GREEN STREAM 

BY WANG WEI 

Every time I have started for the Yellow Flower River, 

I have gone down the Blue-Green Stream, 

Following the hills, making ten thousand turnings. 

We go along rapidly, but advance scarcely one hundred li. 

We are in the midst of a noise of water. 

Of the confused and mingled sounds of water broken by stones. 

And in the deep darkness of pine-trees. 

Rocked, rocked, 

Moving on and on. 

We float past water-chestnuts 

Into a still clearness reflecting reeds and rushes. 

My heart is clean and white as silk; it has already achieved 

Peace; 
It is smooth as the placid river. 
I long to stay here, curled up on the rocks, 
Dropping my fish-line forever. 



123 



FARM HOUSE ON THE WEI STREAM 

BY WANG WEI 

The slanting sun shines on the cluster of small houses upon 

the heights. 
Oxen and sheep are coming home along the distant lane. 
An old countryman is thinking of the herd-boy, 
He leans on his staff by the thorn-branch gate, watching. 
Pheasants are calling, the wheat is coming into ear, 
Silk-worms sleep, the mulberry-leaves are thin. 
Labourers, with their hoes over their shoulders, arrive; 
They speak pleasantly together, loth to part. 
It is for this I long — unambitious peace ! 
Disappointed in my hopes, dissatisfied, I hum " Dwindled and 

Shrunken." 



124 



SEEKING FOR THE HERMIT OF THE WEST 
HILL; NOT MEETING HIM 

BY CH'iU WEI 

On the Nothing-Beyond Peak, a hut of red grass. 

I mount straight up for thirty li. 

I knock at the closed door — no serving boy. 

I look into the room. There is only the low table, and the 

stand for the elbows. 
If you are not sitting on the cloth seat of your rough wood 

cart. 
Then you must be fishing in the Autumn water. 
We have missed each other; we have not seen each other; 
My effort to do you homage has been in vain. 
The grass is the colour which rain leaves. 
From inside the window, I hear the sound of pine-trees at dusk. 
There is no greater solitude than to be here. 
My ears hear it; my heart spreads open to it naturally. 
Although I lack the entertainment of a host, 
I have received much — the whole doctrine of clear purity. 
My joy exhausted, I descend the hill. 
Why should I wait for the Man of Wisdom ? 



125 



FLOATING ON THE POOL OF JO YA. SPRING 

BY CHI WU-CH'iEN 

Solitary meditation is not suddenly snapped off; it continues 

without interruption. 
It flows — drifts this way, that way — returns upon itself. 
The boat moves before a twilight wind. 
We enter the mouth of the pool by the flower path 
At the moment when night enfolds the Western Valley. 
The serrated hills face the Southern Constellation, 
Mist hangs over the deep river pools and floats down gently, 

gently, with the current. 
Behind me, through the trees, the moon is sinking. 
The business of the world is a swiftly moving space of water, 

a rushing, spreading water. 
I am content to be an old man holding a bamboo fishing-rod. 



126 



SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE WANDERER '' 
(composed by su wu in the time of 

THE EMPEROR WU OF HAn) 
BY MENG CHIAO 

Thread from the hands of a doting mother 

Worked into the clothes of a far-off journeying son. 

Before his departure, were the close, fine stitches set, 

Lest haply his return be long delayed. 

The heart — the inch-long grass — 

Who will contend that either can repay 

The gentle brightness of the Third Month of Spring. 



127 



FAREWELL WORDS TO THE DAUGHTER OF 

THE HOUSE OF YANG 

BY WEI YING-WU 

Because of this, sad, sad has the whole day been to me. 

You must go forth and journey, far, very far. 

The time has come when you, the maiden, must go. 

The light boat ascends the great river. 

Your particular bitterness is to have none from whom you may 

claim support. 
I have cherished you. I have pondered over you. I have been 

increasingly gentle and tender to you. 
A child taken from those who have cared for it — 
On both sides separation brings the tears which will not cease. 
Facing this, the very centre of the bowels is knotted. 
It is your duty, you must go. It is scarcely possible to delay 

farther. 
From early childhood, you have lacked a mother's guidance. 
How then will you know to serve your husband's mother ? I 

am anxious. 
From this time, the support on which you must rely is the 

home of your husband. 
You will find kindness and sympathy, therefore you must not 

grumble; 
Modesty and thrift are indeed to be esteemed. 

128 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Money and jeweb, maid-servants and furnishings — are these 
necessary, a perfection to be waited for? 

The way of a wife should be filial piety, respect and compliance; 

Your manner, your conduct, should be in accord with this way. 

To-day, at dawn, we part. 

How many Autumns will pass before I see you ? 

Usually I endeavour to command my feelings, 

But now, when my emotions come upon me suddenly, they are 
difficult to control. 

« 

Being returned home, I look at my own little girl. 
My tears fall as rain. They trickle down the string of my cap 
and continue to flow. 



129 



SUNG TO THE AIR: "LOOKING SOUTH OVER 
THE RIVER AND DREAMING '* 

BY W^N t'iNG-yOn 

The hair is combed. 
The face is washed. 
All is done. 

Alone, in the upper story of my Summer-house, I bend forward, 

looking at the river. 
A thousand sails pass — but among all of them the one is not. 
The slant sunlight will not speak. 
It will not speak. 
The long-stretched water scarcely moves. 

My bowels are broken within me. 

Oh! Island of the White Water Flowers! 



130 



TOGETHER WE KNOW HAPPINESS 

WRITTEN BY A DESCENDANT OF THE FOUNDER OF THE 

SOUTHERN t'aNG DYNASTY 

Silent and alone, I ascended the West Cupola. 
The moon was like a golden hook. 

In the quiet, empty, inner courtyard, the coolness of early 
Autumn enveloped the wu-t'ung tree. 



Scissors cannot cut this thing; 
Unravelled, it joins again and clings. 
It is the sorrow of separation, 
And none other tastes to the heart like this. 



131 






ONCE MORE FIELDS AND GARDENS 
BY t'aO YUAN-MING 

Even as a young man 

I was out of tune with ordinary pleasures. 

It was my nature to love the rooted hills, 

The high hills which look upon the four edges of Heaven. 

What folly to spend one^s life like a dropped leaf 

Snared under the dust of streets, 

But for thirteen years it was so I lived. 

The caged bird longs for the fluttering of high leaves. 

The fish in the garden pool languishes for the whirled water 

Of meeting streams. 

So I desired to clear and seed a patch of the wild Southern 

moor. 
And always a countryman at heart, 
I have come back to the square enclosures of my fields 
And to my walled garden with its quiet paths. 

Mine is a little property of ten mou or so, 
A thatched house of eight or nine rooms. 
On the North side, the eaves are overhung 
With the thick leaves of elm-trees. 
And willow-trees break the strong force of the wind. 

132 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

On the South, in front of the great hall, 
Peach-trees and plum-trees spread a net of branches ' 
Before the distant view. 

The village is hazy, hazy, 

And mist sucks over the open moor. 

A dog barks in the sunken lane which runs through the village. 

A cock crows, perched on a clipped mulberry. 

There is no dust or clatter 

In the courtyard before my house. 

My private rooms are quiet, 

And calm with the leisure of moonlight through an open door. 

For a long time I lived in a cage; 
Now I have returned. 
For one must return 
To fulfil one's nature. 



133 



SONG OF THE SNAPPED WILLOW 

WRITTEN DURING THE LIANG DYNASTY 

When he mounted his horse, he did not take his leather riding- 
whip; 

He pulled down and snapped off the branch of a willow-tree. 

When he dismounted, he blew into his horizontal flute. 

And it was as though the fierce grief of his departure would 
destroy the traveller. 



134 



THE CLOUDY RIVER 

(from the ** BOOK OF ODES ") 

How the Cloudy River glitters-— 

Shining, revolving in the sky! 

The King spoke: 

"Alas! Alas! 

What crime have the men of to-day committed 

That Heaven sends down upon them 

Confusion and death? 

The grain does not sprout, 

The green harvests wither, 

Again and again this happens. 

There is no spirit to whom I have not rendered homage, 

No sacrifice I have withheld for love. 

My stone sceptres and round badges of rank have come to an 

end. 
Why have I not been heard? 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression ! 

The heated air is overpowering; it is a concentrated fierceness. 

I have not ceased to offer the pure sacrifices, 

I myself have gone from the border altars to the ancestral 

temples. 
To OSeaven, 
To Earth, 

135 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

I have made the proper offerings, 

I have buried them in the ground. 

There is no spirit I have riot honoured, 

Hou Chi could do no more. 

Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us. 

This waste and ruin of the Earth — 

If my body alone might endure it ! 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression! 

I cannot evade the responsibility of it. 

I am afraid — afraid; I feel in peril — I feel in peril, 

As when one hears the clap of thunder and the roll of thunder. 

Of the remnant of the black-haired people of Chou 

There will not be left so much as half a man. 

Ruler over the high, wide Heavens, 

Even I shall not be spared. 

Why should I not be terrified 

Since the ancestral sacrifices will be ended? 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression! 
The consequences of it cannot be prevented. 
Scorching — scorching ! 
Blazing — blazing! 
No living place is left to me. 
The Great Decree of Fate is near its end. 
There is none to look up to; none whose counsel I might ask. 
The many great officials, the upright men of ancient days, 

136 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Cannot advise me in regard to these consequences. 
My father, my mother, my remote ancestors. 
How can you endure this which has befallen me ? 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression ! 

Parched and scoured the hills, the streams. 

Drought, the Demon of Drought, has caused these ravages, 

Like a burning fire which consumes everything. 

My heart is shrivelled with the heat; 

Sorrow rises from the heart as smoke from fire. 

The many great officials, the upright men of ancient days. 

Do not listen to me. 

Ruler of the high, wide Heavens, 

Permit that I retire to obscurity. 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression! 
I strive, and force myself in vain. 
I dread that which will come. 

How — why — should I bear this madness of drought ? 
I suffer not to know the reason for it. 
I offered the yearly sacrifices for full crops in good time. 
I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the 
Earth. 

The Ruler of the high, wide Heavens 
Does not even consider me. 

I have worshipped and reverenced the bright gods. 

They should not be dissatisfied or angry with me. 

137 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Already the drought is terrible beyond expression! 

Everything is in confusion; all authority is gone; 

My officials are reduced to extremity. 

My Chief Minister is afflicted with a continuing illness. 

My Master of the Horse, my Commander of the Guards, 

My Steward, my attendants of the Right and of the Left, 

Not one among them has failed to try and help the people, 

Not one has given up because powerless. 

I raise my head and look at the Ruler of the wide, bright 

Heavens. 
I cry: * Why must I suffer such grief! ' 

I look upwards. I gaze at the wide, bright Heavens, 

There are little stars twinkling, even those stars. 

My officers and the great men of my country, 

You have wrought sincerely and without gain. 

The Great Decree is near its end. 

Do not abandon what you have partly accomplished, 

Your prayers are not for me alone, 

But to guard the people and those who watch over them from 

calamity. 
I look upwards. I gaze at the wide, bright Heavens. 
When shall I receive the favour of rest ? " 



138 






TO THE AIR: "THE FALLEN LEAVES AND 
THE PLAINTIVE CICADA" 

BY THE EMPEROR WU OF HAN 

There is no rustle of silken sleeves, 
Dust gathers in the Jade Courtyard. 
The empty houses are cold, still, without sound. 
The leaves fall and lie upon the bars of doorway after door- 
way. 
I long for theMost Beautiful One; how can I attain my desire ? 
Pain bursts my heart. There is no peace. 



139 



WRITTEN IN EARLY AUTUMN AT THE POOL 

OF SPRINKLING WATER 

BY CHAD TI OF HAN, THE "BRIGHT EMPEROR*' 

In Autumn, when the landscape is clear, to float over the wide, 

water ripples. 
To pick the water-chestnut and the lotus-flower with a quick, 

light hand! 
The fresh wind is cool, we start singing to the movement of 

the oars. 
The clouds are bright ; they part before the light of dawn ; the 

moon has sunk below the Silver River. 
Enjoying such pleasure for ten thousand years— 
Could one consider it too much? 



140 



PROCLAIMING THE JOY OF CERTAIN HOURS 

BY THE EMPEROR LING OF ( LATER) HAN 

Cool wind rising. Sun sparkling on the wide canal. 
Pink lotuses, bent down by day, spread open at night. 
There is too much pleasure; a day cannot contain it. 
Clear sounds of strings, smooth flowing notes of flageolets — • 

we sing the " Jade Love-Bird " song. 
A thousand years ? Ten thousand ? Nothing could exceed such 

delight. 



141 



A SONG OF GRIEF 

BY PAN CHIEH-YU 

Glazed silk, newly cut, smooth, glittering, white. 

As wlute, as clear, even as frost and snow. 

Perfectly fashioned into a fan. 

Round, round, like the brilliant moon. 

Treasured in my Lord's sleeve, taken out, put in — 

Wave it, shake it, and a little wind flies from it. 

How often I fear the Autumn Season's coming 

And the fierce, cold wind which scatters the blazing heat. 

Discarded, passed by, laid in a box alone; 

Such a little time, and the thing of love cast off. 



142 



A LETTER OF THANKS FOR PRECIOUS 
PEARLS BESTOWED BY ONE ABOVE 

BY CHIANG TS*AI-P'lN * 

(the " plum-blossom *' CONCUBINE OF 
THE EMPEROR MING HUANg) 

It is long — long — since my two eyebrows were painted 

like cassia-leaves. 
I have ended the adorning of myself. My tears soak my dress 

of coarse red silk. 
All day I sit in the Palace of the High Gate. I do not wash; 

I do not comb my hair. 
How can precious pearls soothe so desolate a grief. 



143 



DANCING 

BY YANG KUEI-FEI 

(the "white poplar" imperial concubine of 

THE EMPEROR MING HUANg) 

Wide sleeves sway. 
Scents, 
Sweet scents 
Incessantly coming. 

It is red lilies, 
Lotus lilies, 
Floating up. 
And up, 
Out of Autumn mist. 

Thin clouds 

Puffed, 

Fluttered, 

Blown on a rippling wind 

Through a mountain pass. 

Young willow shoots 
Touching, 
Brushing, 
The water 
Of the garden pool. 
144 



SONGS OF THE COURTESANS 

(written during the LIANG DYNASTy) 
ONE OF THE ** SONGS OF THE TEN REQUESTS*' 

BY TING LIU NIANG 

My skirt is cut out of peacock silk, 

Red and green shine together, they are also opposed. 

It dazzles like the gold-chequered skin of the scaly dragon. 

Clearly so odd and lovely a thing must be admired. 

My Lord himself knows well the size. 

I beg thee, my Lover, give me a girdle. 



AI AI THINKS OF THE MAN SHE LOVES 

How often must I pass the moonlight nights alone? 

I gaze far — far — for the Seven Scents Chariot. 

My girdle drops because my waist is shrunken. 

llie golden hairpins of my disordered head-dress are all askew. 



145 



SENT TO HER LOVER YUAN AT HO NAN ( SOUTH 
OF THE river) BY CHANG PI LAN ( JADE-GREEN 

orchid) from hu pei (north of the lake) 

My Lover is like the tree-peony of Lo Yang. 

I, unworthy, like the common willows of Wu Ch'ang. 

Both places love the Spring wind. 

When shall we hold each other's hands again ? 

CH'iN, THE **FIRE-BIRD WITH PLUMAGE WHITE 
AS JADE," LONGS FOR HER LOVER 

Incessant the buzzing of insects beyond the orchid curtain. 
The moon flings slanting shadows from the pepper-trees 

across the courtyard. 
Pity the girl of the flowery house. 
Who is not equal to the blossoms 
Of Lo Yang. 



146 



THE GREAT HO RIVER 

BY THE MOTHER OF THE LORD OF SUNG 

(from " THE BOOK OF ODES ") 

Who says the Ho is wide? 
Why one little reed can bridge it. 

Who says that Sung is far? 
I stand on tiptoe and see it. 

Who says the Ho is wide? 

Why the smallest boat cannot enter. 

Who says that Sung is far ? 

It takes not a morning to reach it. 



147 



WRITTEN PICTURES 



AN EVENING MEETING 

The night is the colour of Spring mists. 

The lamp-flower falls, 

And the flame bursts out brightly. 

In the midst of the disorder of the dressing-table 

Lies a black' eye-stone. 

As she dances, 

A golden hairpin drops to the ground. 

She peeps over her fan. 

Arch, coquettish, welcoming his arrival. 

Then suddenly striking the strings of her table-lute, 

She sings — 

But what is the rain of Sorceress Gorge 

Doing by the shore of the Western Sea? 

Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 



151 



THE EMPEROR'S RETURN FROM A JOURNEY 

TO THE SOUTH 

Like a saint, he comes, 

The Most Noble. 

In his lacquered state chariot 

He awes the hundred living things. 

He is clouded with the purple smoke of incense, 

A round umbrella 

Protects the Son of Heaven. 

Exquisite is the beauty 

Of the two-edged swords, 

Of the chariots, 

Of the star-embroidered shoes of the attendants. 

The Sun and Moon fans are borne before him. 

And he is preceded by sharp spears 

And the blowing brightness of innumerable flags. 

The Spring wind proclaims the Emperor's return, 

Binding the ten thousand districts together 

In a chorded harmony of Peace and Satisfaction, 

So that the white-haired old men and the multitudes rejoice. 

And I wish to add my ode 

In praise of perfect peace. 

Wen Cheng-ming, 16th Century 



152 



ON SEEING THE PORTRAIT OF A BEAUTIFUL 

CONCUBINE 

Fine rain, 

Spring mud 

Slippery as bean curds. 

In a rose-red flash, she approaches — 

Beautiful, sparkling like wine; 

Tottering as though overcome with wine. 

Her little feet slip on the sliding path; 

Who will support her ? 

Clearly it is her picture 

We see here, 

In a rose-red silken dress, 

Her hair plaited like the folds 

Of the hundred clouds. 

It is Manshu. 

Ch'en Hung-Shou, 19th Century 



153 




CALLIGRAPHY 

The writing of Li Po-hai 

Is like the vermilion bird 

And the blue-green dragon. 

It drifts slowly as clouds drift; 

It has the wide swiftness of wind. 

Hidden within it lurk the dragon and the tiger. 

The writing of Chia, the official. 
Is like the high hat of ceremonial. 
It flashes like flowers in the hair, 
And its music is the trailing of robes 
And the sweet tinkling of jade girdle-pendants. 
Because of his distinguished position, 
He never sa}^ anything not sanctioned by precedent. 

\ Liang T'ung-shu, 1 8th Century 



154 



■j^ 



THE PALACE BLOSSOMS 

When the rain ceases, 

The white water flowers of Ch'ang Lo stroll together at sunset 

In the City by the River. 

The young girls are no longer confined 

In the gold pavilions, 

But may gaze at the green water 

Whirling under the bridge of many turnings. 

Tai Ta-mien, 18th Century 



155 



ONE GOES A JOURNEY 

He is going to the Tung 'Ping Lake, 

My friend whom I have loved so many years. 

The Spring wind startles the willows 

And they break into pale leaf. 

I go with my friend 

As far as the river-bank. 

He is gone — 

And my mind is filled and overflowing 

With the things I did not say. 

Again the white water flower 

Is ripe for plucking. 

The green, pointed swords of the iris 

Splinter the brown earth. 

To the South of the river 

Are many sweet-olive trees. 

I gather branches of them to give to my fnend 

On his return. 

Liu Shih-an, 18th Century 



156 



FROM THE STRAW HUT AMONG THE SEVEN 

PEAKS 

I 

From the high pavilion of the great rock, 

I look down at the g^een river. 

There is the sail of a returning boat. 

The birds are flying in pairs. 

The faint snuff colour of trees 

Closes the horizon. 

All about me 

Sharp peaks jag upward; 

But through my window, 

And beyond, 

Is the smooth, broad brightness 

Of the setting sun. 

II 

Clouds brush the rocky ledge. 
In the dark green shadow left by the sunken sun 
A jade fountain flies. 
And a little stream, 

Thin as the fine thread spun by sad women in prison chambers. 
Slides through the grasses 
And whirls suddenly upon itself 

157 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

Avoiding the sharp edges of the iris-leaves. 
Few people pass here. 

Only the hermits of the hills come in companies 
To gather the Imperial Fern. 

Lu KuN, 19th Century 



158 



ON THE CLASSIC OF THE HILLS AND SEA 

In what place does the cinnabar-red tree of the alchemists 

seed? 
Upon the sun-slopes 
Of Mount Mi 

It pushes out its yellow flowers 
And rounds its crimson fruit. 
Eat it and you will live forever. 

The frozen dew is like white jade; 

It shimmers with the curious light of gems. 

Why do people regard these things? 

Because the Yellow Emperor considers them of importance. 

Written by Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 
Composed by Tao Ch'ien 



159 



5 



THE HERMIT 

A COLD rain blurs the edges of the river. 

Night enters Wu. 

In the level brightness of dawn 

I saw my friend start alone for the Ch'u Mountain. 

He gave me this message for his friends and relations at Lo 

Yang: 
My heart is a piece of ice in a jade cup. 

Written by Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 

Composed by Wang Ch'ang-ung 



160 



AFTER HOW MANY YEARS 

SPRING 

The willows near the roadside rest-house are soft with new- 
burst buds. 
I saunter along the river path, 

Listening to the occasional beating of the ferry drum. 
Clouds blow and separate, 
And between them I see the watch towers 
Of the distant city. 
They come in official coats 
To examine my books. 
Months go by; 

Years slide backwards and disappear. 
Musing, 
I shut my eyes 

And think of the road I have come, 
And of the Spring weeds 
Choking the fields of my house. 

SUMMER 

The rain has stopped. 

The clouds drive in a new direction. 

The sand is so dry and hard that my wooden shoes ring upon it 

As I walk. 

161 




FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

The flowers in the wind arc very beautifuL 

A little stream quietly draws a line 

Through the sand. 

Every household is drunk with sacrificial wine. 

And every field is tall with millet 

And pale young wheat. 

I have not much business. 

It is a good day. 

I smile. 

I will write a poem 

On all this sudden brightness. 

AUTUMN 

Hoar-firost is falling, 

And the water of the river runs clear. 

The moon has not yet risen, 

But there are many stars. 

I hear the watch-dogs 

In the near-by village. 

On the opposite bank 

Autumn lamps are burning in the windows. 

I am sick, 

Sick with all the illnesses there are. 

I can bear this cold no longer, 

And a great pity for my whole past life 

Fills my mind. 

The boat has started at last. 

162 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

be careful not to run foul 
Of the fishing-nets ! 

WINTER 

1 was lonely in the cold valleys 
Where I was stationed. 

But I am still lonely, 

And when no one is near 

I sigh. 

My gluttonous wife rails at me 

To guard her bamboo shoots. 

My son is ill and neglects to water 

The flowers. 

Oh yes, 

Old red rice can satisfy hunger. 

And poor people can buy muddy, unstrained wine 

On credit. 

But the pile of land-tax bills 

Is growing; 

I will go over and see my neighbour. 

Leaning on my staff. 

Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 



163 



THE I^fN AT THE MOUNTAIN PASS 

I RETURN to the inn at the foot of the Climbing Bean Pass. 

The smooth skin of the water shines, 

And the clouds slip over the sky. 

This is the twilight of dawn and dusk. 

On the top of Hsi Leng 

The hill priest sits in the evening 

And meditates. 

Two — 

Two — 

Those are the lights of fishing-boats 

Arriving at the door. 

Wang CniNO-xs'iNG, 19th Century 



164 



-jiM 



U T'AI-PO MEDITATES 

Li Po climbed the Flowery Mountain 

As far as the Peak of the Fallen Precipice, 

Gazing upward, he said: 

" From this little space my breath can reach the God Star." 

He sighed, regretting his irresolution, and thought: 

"Hsieh T^iao alarms people with his poetry. 

I can only scratch my head 

And beseech the Green Heaven 

To regard me." 

Ho PiNG-SHOu, 19th Century 



165 



PAIR OF SCROLLS 

Shoaus of fish assemble and scatter, 
Suddenly there is no trace of them. 

The single butterfly comes — 

Goes — 

Comes — 

Returning as though urged by love. 

Ho SuAO-CHi, 19th Century 



166 



TWO PANELS 

By the scent of the burning pine-cones, 
I read the *' Book of Changes." 

Shaking the dew from the lotus-flowers, 
I write T'ang poetry. 

Liang T'ung-shu, 19th Century 



167 



THE RETURN 

He is a solitary traveller 

Returning to his home in the West. 

Ah, but how difficult to find the way! 

He has journeyed three thoasand IL 

He has attended an Imperial audience at the Twelve Towers. 

He sees the slanting willows by the road 

With their new leaves, 

But when he left his house 

His eyes were dazzled by the colours 

Of Autunm. 

What darkness fills them now! 

He is far fh)m the Autumn-bright hills 

He remembers. 

The spread of the river before him is empty, 

It slides — slides. 

Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 



168 



J itkk 



EVENING CALM 

The sun has set. 

The sand sparkles. 

The sky is bright with afterglow. 

The small waves flicker, 

And the swirling water rustles the stones. 

In the white path of the moon, 

A small boat drifts, 

Seeking ft)r the entrance 

To the stream of many turnings. 

Probably there is snow 

On the shady slopes of the hills. 

Kao Shih-chi, 19th Century 



169 



jssd 



FISHING PICTURE 

The fishermen draw their nets 

From the great pool of the T'an River. 

They have hired a boat 

And come here to fish by the reflected light 

Of the sunken sun. 

Ta Chung-kuang, 19th Century 



iro 



^ 

^ 



SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN 

The stream at the foot of the mountain 

Runs all day. 

Even far back in the hills, 

The grass is growing; 

Spring is late there. 

From all about comes the sound 

Of dogs barking 

And chickens cheeping. 

They are stripping the mulberry-trees, 

But who planted them? 

What a wind! 
We start in our boat 
To gather the red water-chestnut. 
Leaning on my staff, 
I watch the sun sink 
Behind the Western village. 
I can see the apricot-trees 
Set on their raised stone platform. 
With an old fisherman standing 
Beside them. 
It makes me think 
Of the Peach-Blossom Fountain, 

171 



FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 

And the houses 
Clustered about it. 

Let us meet beside the spring 

And drink wine together. 

I will bring my table-lute; 

It is good 

To lean against 

The great pines. 

In the gardens to the South, 

The sun-flowera are wet with dew; 

They will pick them at dawn. 

And all night 

In the Western villages 

One hears the sound of yellow millet being pounded. 

Li Hai-ku, 19th Century 



172 



NOTES 



NOTES 

SONGS OF THE MARCHES 

Note i. It is the Fifth Month, 

But still the Heaven-high hills 

Shine with snow. 

The Fifth Month corresponds to June. (See Introduc- 
tion.) The Heaven-high hills are the T'ien Shan Moun- 
tains, which run across the Northern part of Central 
Asia and in places attain a height of 20,000 feet. (See 
map.) 

Note 2. Playing " The Snapped Willow:* 

The name of an old song suggesting homesickness; it is 
translated in this volume. It was written during the 
Liang Dynasty (a.d. 502-557). References to it are very 
common in Chinese poetry. 

Note 3, So that they may be able in an instant to rush upon the Bat' 

barians. 
The Chinese regarded the tribes of Central Asia, known 
by the generic name of Hsiung Nu, as Barbarians, and 
often spoke of them as such. It was during the reign of 
Shih Huang Ti (221-206 B.C.) that these tribes first 
seriously threatened China, and it was to resist their in- 
cursions that the Great Wall was built. They were a 
nomadic people, moving from place to place in search of 
fresh pasture for their herds. They were famous for 
their horsemanship and always fought on horseback. 

Note 4. And the portrait of Ho P'iao Yao 

Hangs magnificerUly in the Lin Pavilion, 

Ho P'iao Yao was a famous leader whose surname was 

175 



NOTES 

Ho. He was given the pseudonym of P'iao Yao, meaning 
"to whirl with great speed to the extreme limit," be- 
cause of his energy in fighting. His lust for war was so 
terrible that the soldiers under him always expected to 
be killed. After his death, the Emperor Wu of Han 
erected a tomb in his honour. It was covered with 
blocks of stone in order that it might resemble the Cb'i 
Lien Mountains, where Ho P'iao Yao's most successful 
battles had been fought. 
The Lin Pavilion was a Hall where the portraits of dis- 
tinguished men were hung. 

Noted. The Hecmenly soldiers arise. 

The Chinese soldiers were called the ** Heavenly Sol- 
diers" because they fought for the Emperor, who was 
the Son of Heaven. 

Note 6. Divides the tiger tally. 

A disk broken in half, worn as a proof of identity and 
authority. The General was given one half, the Emperor 
kept the other. 

Note 7. The Jade Pass has not yet been forced. 

., In order to reach the Central Asian battle-fields, the 
soldiers were obliged to go out through the Jade Pass, or 
Barrier, which lay in the curious bottle-neck of land 
between the mountain ranges which occupy the centre 
of the continent. (See map.) \ 

Note 8. They seized the snow of the Inland Sea. 

The Inland, or Green Sea, is the Chinese name for the 
Eokonor Lake lying West of the Eansu border. (See 
map.) 

Nole 9. They lay on the sand ai the top of the Dragon Mound. 

The Dragon Mound is a high ridge of land on the West- 
. em border of Shensi, now comprising part of the Eastern 

176 



NOTES 

boundary of Eansu. The native accounts say that the 
road encircles the mountains nine times, and that it 
takes seven days to make the ascent. " Its height is not 
known. From its summit, one can see five hundred IL 
To the East, Ke the homes of men; to the West, wild 
wastes. The sound of a stone thrown over the precipice 
is heard for several IL** 

Note 10. All this ihey lore thai the Moon Clan. 

Name of one of the Hsiung Nu tribes. It was this tribe, 
known to Europeans under name of Huns, who overran 
Europe in the Fifth Century. 

THE PERILS OF THE SHU ROAD 

Note if. During the reign of the T'ang Emperor, Hsuan Tsung 
(a.d. 712-756), better known as Ming Huang, a rebellion 
broke out under An Lu-shan, an official who had for 
many years enjoyed the Emperor's supreme favour. 
Opinions among the advisers to the throne differed as to 
whether or not the Emperor had better fly froni his 
capital and take refuge in the province of Szechwan» 
the ancient Shu. Li T'ai-po strongly disapproved of 
the step, but as he was no longer in office could only 
express his opinion under the guise of a poem. This 
poem, which the Chinese read in a metaphorical sense, 
describes the actual perils of the road leading across the 
Mountains of the Two-Edged Sword, the only thorough- 
fare into Szechwan. Li T'ai-po's counsel did not prevail, 
however, and the Emperor did actually flee, but not 
until after the poem was written. 

Note 12. No greater undertaking than this has been since Ts'an Ts*ung 

and Yii Fu ruled the land. 
These were early Rulers. Ts'an Ts'ung was the first 

177 



NOTES 

King of Shu, the modem Szechwan. He was supposed to 
be a descendant of the semi-legendary Yellow Emperor. 

Note 13, But the earth of the mountain fell and overwhelmed the Heroes 

so thai they perished. 
An historical allusion to five strong men sent by the King 
of Shu to obtain the daughters of the King of Ch'in. 

Note iU, Above, the soaring tips of the high mountains hold back the 

six dragons of the sun. 
The sun is supposed to drive round the Heavens once 
every day in a chariot drawn by six dragons and driven 
by a charioteer named Hsi Ho. 

Note 15, The gibbons climb and climb. 

Gibbons, which are very common in this part of China, 
are a smaU species of tailless ape, thoroughly arboreal in 
their habits. They make the woods sound with un- 
earthly cries at night, and are unsurpassed in agility and 
80 swift in movement as to be able to catch flying birds 
with their paws. 

Note 16. This is what the Two-Edged Sword Mountains are like! 

In this range, the mountains are so high, the cliffs so 
precipitous, and the passes so few, that it was almost 
impossible to devise a means of crossing them. The 
Chinese, however, have invented an ingenious kind of 
pathway called a "terraced" or "flying" road. Holes 
are cut in the face of the cliffs, and wooden piles are 
mortised into them at an angle. Tree trunks are then 
laid across the space between the tops of the piles and 
the cliff wall, making a corduroy road, the whole being 
finally covered with earth. These roads are so solidly 
built that not only people, but horses and even small 
carts, can pass over them. As there are no railings, 
however, travel upon them is always fraught with more 
or less danger. 

178 



NOTES 

LOOKING AT THE MOON AFTER RAIN 

Note 17. Half of the moon-toad is already up. 

In Chinese mythology, the cK'an, a three-legged toad, 
lives in the moon and is supposed to swallow it during 
an eclipse. The toad is very long-lived and grows horns 
at the age of three thousand years. It was originally a 
woman named Ch*ang 0, who stole the drug of Immor- 
tality and fled to the moon to escape her husband's 
wrath. The moon is often referred to as ch'an, as in the 
poem. 

Note 18. The glimmer of it is like smooth hoar-frost spreading over ten 

thousand U. 
A. li is a Chinese land measurement, equal to about one 
third of a nule. 

THE LONELY WIFE 

Note 19. There is only the moon, shining through the clouds of a hardj 

jade-green sky. 
The term "jade," in Chinese literature, includes both 
the jadeites and nephrites. These semi-transparent 
stones are found in a great variety of colours. There are 
black jades; pure white jades, described by the Chinese 
as "mutton fat"; jades with brown and red veins; yel- 
low jades tinged with green; grey jades with white or 
brown lines running through them; and, most usual of 
all, green jades, of which there are an infinite number of 
shades. 

These green jades vary from the dark, opaque moss- 
green, very much like the New Zealand "green-stone," 
to the jewel jade called by the Chinese fei is*ui, or 
"kingfisher feather," which, in perfect examples, is the 
brilliant green of an emerald. As a result of this range of 

179 



fi 



NOTES 

colouring, the Chinese use the term *'jade" to describe 
the tints seen in Nature. The colours of the sky, the 
hills, the sea, can all be found in the jades, which are 
considered by the Chinese as the most desirable of pre- 
cious stones. In addition to its employment in actual 
comparison, the word "jade*' is very often used in a 
figurative sense to denote anything especially desirable. 

NoU 20. Beneath the quilt of the Fire-Bird, on the bed of the SHoer- 

Crested Looe-Pheasani, 
The Fire-Bird is the Ijuan, and the Love-Pheasant the 
F^ Huang \ both are fully described in the table of 
mythical animals in the Introduction. 

Note 2i. Am the teart of your so Unworthy One escape and eoniinue 

constantly to flow. 
The term " Unworthy One" is constantly used by wives 
and concubines in speaking of themselves to their hus- 
bands or to the men they love. 

Note 22. As I toss on my pillow, I hear the cold, nostalgic sound qf the 

toater-clock. 
The clepsydra, or water-dock, has been used by the 
Chinese for many centuries, one can still be seen in the 
North Worshipping Tower in Canton, and another in 
the "Forbidden" portion of the Peking Palace, where 
the dethroned Manchu Emperor lives. The following 
account of the one in Canton is taken from the " Chinese 
Repository," Volume XX, Page 430: "The clepsydra is 
called the * copper-jar water-dropper.* There are four 
covered jars standing on a brickwork stairway, the top 
of each of which is level with the bottom of the one 
above it. The largest measures twenty-three inches 
high and broad and contains seventy catties or ninety- 
seven and a half pints of water; the second is twenty- 
two inches high and twenty-one inches broad; the third, 

180 



NOTES 

twenty-one inches high and twenty broad; and the low- 
est, twenty-three inches high and nineteen inches broad. 
Each is connected with the other by an open trough 
along which the water trickles. The wooden index in 
the lowest jar is set every morning and afternoon at 
five o'clock, by placing the mark on it for these hours 
even with the cover through which it rises and indicates 
the time. The water is dipped out and poured back into 
the top jar when the index shows the completion of the 
half day, and the water is renewed every quarter.'* 

THE PLEASURES WITHIN THE PALACE 

Note 23. From liUle, liUle girls, they have lived in the Golden House. 

The "Golden House*' is an allusion to a remark made 
by the Emperor Wu of Han who, when still a boy, ex- 
claimed that if he could marry his lovely cousin A-chiao 
he would build a golden house for her to live in. 

Palaces were often given most picturesque names, 
and different parts of the precincts were described as 
being of "jade " or some other precious material, the use 
of the word ** golden " is, of course, in this case, purely 
figurative. 
The organization of the Imperial seraglio, which contained 
many thousands of women, was most complicated, and 
the ladies belonged to different classes or ranks. 

There was only one Empress, whose title was Hou, 
and, if the wife of the preceding monarch were stiU alive, 
she was called T*ai Hou, or Greater Empress. These 
ladies had each their own palace. Next in rank came the 
principal Imperial concubines or secondary wives called 
Fei, As a rule, there were two of them, and they had 
each their palace and household. After them came the 
P*in described as "Imperial concubines of first rank," or 
maids of honour, who lived together in a large palace 

181 




NOTES 

and who, once they had attained this rank, could never 
be dispersed. (See Note 69.) The ladies of the Court are 
often spoken of as Fei-P*in. Of lower rank thcui these 
were the innumerable Palace women called Ch*ieh, con- 
cubines or handmaids. The use of the word is not con- 
fined to the inmates of the Palace, as ordinary people 
may have ch^ieh. Little girls who were especially pretty, 
or who showed unusual promise, were often sent to the 
Palace when quite young, that they might become ac- 
customed to the surroundings while still children. (See 
Introduction.) 

Note 24. They are lovely, lovely, in the Purple HalL 

The Ruler of Heaven lives in a circumpolar constellation 
. called the Tzd Wei, Purple Enclosure; therefore the Pal- 
ace of his Son, the Ruler of Earth, is called "Purple." 

Note 25. Their only sorrow, thai the songs and wu dances are over. 

The wu dance is a posturing dance for which special, 
very elaborately embroidered dresses with long stream- 
ers are worn. As the arms move, these scarves float rhyth- 
mically in the air. 

Note 26. Changed into the five-coloured clouds and flown away. 

The allusion to the five-coloured clouds is to the beauti- 
fully variegated clouds, bright with the five colours of 
happiness, upon which the Inunortals ride. 

WRITTEN IN THE CHARACTER OF A BEAUTIFUL 

WOMAN 

Note 27. Bright, bright, the gilded magpie mirror. 

Magpies are the birds of happiness. There is an old 
story of the Gold Magpie which tells that, ages ago, a 
husband and wife, at parting, divided a round mirror 
between them, each keeping a half as a guarantee of 
fidelity. Unhappily, the wife forgot her marriage Vows, 

182 



.-.<&. 



NOTES 

and to her horror the half circle she had kept turned into 
a magpie and flew away. Since then, magpies are often 
carved on mirror backs as reminders and warnings. 

Note 28, I^it at my dressing-stand^ and I am like the Green Fire-Bird 

whot thinking of its mate, died alone. 
The Green Fire-Bird is a fabulous creature who is re- 
garded as the embodiment of every grace and beauty. It 
is the essence of the Fire God, and references to it in 
stories of love and marriage are frequent. One of the 
most popular of these tales is that of a King of India 
who caught a beautiful bird with green plumage of an 
extraordinary brilliance. He valued it greatly, and had 
an exquisite gold cage made for it. For three years it 
lived in captivity, and not a sound came from it in all 
that time. At last, the King, who was much puzzled at 
its silence, consulted his wife, saying: "Is the creature 
dumb?" She replied: "No, but every creature is the 
. same, when it meets one of its own species it will speak." 
Not knowing how to obtain a mate for the Green Fire- 
Bird, the King placed a large mirror in its cage. The Loan 
danced with joy, uttered strange cries, and then, with 
all its strength, hurled itself against its own reflection 
and fell dead. 

Note W. My tears, like white jade chop-sticks^ fall in a single piece. 

It was said of the Empress Ch'gn of Wei (403-241 B.C.) 
that her tears feU so fast they formed connected lines 
like jade chop-sticks. 

SONGS TO THE PEONIES 

Note 30, The "Songs to the Peonies" were written on a Spring 
morning when Ming Huang, accompanied by Yang 
Kuei-fei, his favourite concubine, and his Court, had 
gone to see the blooms for which he had a passion. As he 

183 



NOTES 

sat, admiring the flowers and listening to the singing of 
the Palace maidens, he suddenly exclaimed: " I am tired 
of these old songs, call Li Po." The poet was found, but 
unfortunately in a state best described by the Chinese 
expression of ** great drunk.** Supported by attendants 
on either side of him, he appeared at the pavilion, and 
while Yang Kuei-fei held his ink-slab, dashed off the 
** Songs." She then sang them to the air, "Peaceful 
Brightness,'* while the Emperor beat time. 

The "Songs" compare Yang Kuei-fei to the Immor- 
tals and to Li Fu-j^, a famous beauty of whom it was 
said that "one glance would overthrow a city, a second 
would overthrow the State.'* But, unluckily, Li T'ai-po 
also brought in the name of the " Flying Swallow," a con- 
cubine of the Han Emperor Ch*^g, who caused the 
downfall of the noble Pan Chieh-yli (see Note 155) and 
is looked upon as a despicable character. Kao Li-shih, 
the Chief Eunuch of the Court, induced Yang Kuei-fei 
to take this mention as an insult, and it finally cost Li 
T'ai-po his place at Court. 

In the third "Song," there is an allusion to the Elm- 
peror under the figure of the sun. When his presence is 
removed, the unhappy, jealous flowers feel as if they 
were growing on the North side of the pavilion. 

Yang Kuei-fei, the most famous Imperial concubine in 
Chinese history, was a young girl of the Yang (White 
Poplar) family, named Yii Huan, or Jade Armlet; she is 
generally referred to as Yang Kuei-fei or simply Kuei- 
fei — Exalted Imperial Concubine. 

The Chief Eunuch brought her before the T'ang Em- 
peror, Ming Huang, at a time when the ol^ man was 
inconsolable from the double deaths of his beloved Em- 
press and his favourite mistress. 

The story goes that the Emperor first saw Yang Yii 
Huan, then fifteen years old, as she was bathing in the 

184 



NOTES 

pool made of 'stone, white as jade, in the pleasure palace 
he had built on the slopes of the lA Mountains. As the 
young girl left the water, she wrapped herself in a cloak 
of open-work gauze through which her skin shone with a 
wonderful light. The Emperor immediately fell des- 
perately in love with her.^'and she soon became chief of 
the Palace ladies wearing *'half the garments of an Em- 
press." 

Yang Kuei-fei rose to such heights of power that her 
word was law; she had her own palace, her own dancing- 
girls, and was even allowed by the doting monarch to 
adopt the great An Lu-shan, for whom she had a pas- 
sion, as her son. Her follies and extravagancies were in- 
numerable, and her ill-fame spread about the country to 
such an extent that, when the rebellion broke out (see 
Note 37), the soldiers refused to fight until she had been 
given over to them for execution. 

After her death, Ming Huang spent three inconsolable 
years as an exile in Szechwan, and his first act upon his 
return to the Empire, which he had ceded to his son, was 
to open her grave. It was empty. Even the gold hair* 
ornaments, and the half of a round gold box shared with 
the Emperor as an emblem of ooi^ugal unity, had gone; 
the only trace of the dead beauty was the scent-bag in 
which she had kept these treasures. "Ah," cried the 
unhappy monarch, "may I not see even the bones of my 
belovedP " In despair, he sent for a Taoist magician and 
begged him to search the Worlds for Yang Kuei-fei. The 
Taoist burnt charms to enlist the help of the beneficent 
spirits, but these were unsuccessful in their search. He 
finally sat in contemplation until the "vital essence" 
issued from his body and descended to the World of 
Shades. Here the names of all the spirits who have 
passed from the World of Light are entered in classified 
books, but that of Yang Kuei-fei was not among them. 

185 



NOTES 

The demon in charge insisted that if the name were not 
entered, the spirit had not arrived, and the Taoist left, 
sad and crest-fallen. 

He then reflected that if she really were not at the 
Yellow Springs below, she must be among the Immortals 
above. He therefore ascended to Paradise, and asked 
the first person he met, who happened to be the Weaving 
Maiden who lives in the sky, for news of the lost lady. 
The Weaving Maiden was most unconmiunicative, and 
found much difficulty in believing that Ming Huang, 
who had consented to the execution of Yang Kuei-fei, 
really mourned her death, but finally admitted that she 
was living among the Inunortals on the island of P'eng 
Lai in the Jade-grey Sea, and even assisted the Taoist to 
find her. She then told Yang Kuei-fei that, if she still 
loved the Emperor, the Moon Mother might be induced 
to allow a meeting at the full moon on the fifteenth day 
of the Eighth Month. Yang Kuei-fei eagerly assented, 
and giving the Taoist a gold hairpin and her half of the 
round box as a proof of her existence, begged that he 
hasten back to the World of Light and make all arrange- 
ments with her lover. 

Accordingly, at the appointed time, the Taoist threw 
his fly-whip into the air, creating a bridge of light be- 
tween this world and the moon, and over this Ming 
Huang passed. Yang Kuei-fei was waiting for him. She 
stood under the great cassia-tree which grows in the 
moon, and was surrounded by fairies. 

The story, which is often sung to the air "Rainbow 
Skirts and Feather Collar," goes on to relate that the 
Weaving Maiden was moved to deep pity by their joy 
at meeting and arranged with the Jade Emperor, Chief 
Ruler of the Heavens, that the pair, immortalized by 
their great love, should live forever in the Tao Li Heaven. 



186 



NOTES 

THE PALACE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON ROBES 

Note 31. I ponder his regard, not mine the love 

Enjoyed by those within the Purple Palace, 

The Palace woman of Ch*in was evidently one of the 
lower ranks of concubines who lived in the Women's 
Apartments and only appeared when sent for, not in one 
of the palaces given to ladies of higher rank. 

Note 32. If floods should come, I also tvould not leaxe, 
A hear might come and still I could protect. 

Now that she is no longer needed, she reflects sadly on 
the stories of two heroines whose behaviour she would 
gladly have emulated. These are Fen Chieh-yii, a fa- 
vourite of the Han Emperor, Yilan, who once protected 
her master with her own body from the attack of a bear 
which had broken out of its cage; and Liu Fu-j^, concu- 
bine of King Chao of Ch*u. It is told of Liu Fu-jSn that 
one day she went with the King to the "Terrace by the 
Stream," where he told her to wait for him until he re- 
turned from the capital. While she waited, the river rose, 
but she refused to leave unless by Imperial conunand. 
By the time this arrived she was drowned. 

Note 33. Of serving Sun and Moon. 

The "Sun and Moon" are the Emperor and Empress. 

THE NANKING WINE-SHOP 

Note 54. In the wine-shops of Wu, women are pressing the wine. 

Wine made from grain is fermented for several weeks in 
tubs and then strained or "pressed" through cloths. It 
is not red, like wine from grapes, but either a shade of 
yellow or pure white. Wines made from grapes, plums, 
apples, pears, lichis, and roses, are sometimes used, but 
are not nearly so strong as the decoctions from grains. 

1S7 



NOTES 

FfiNG HUANG T'AI 

NoU 35. The tiher<resied love-pheoianis iiruUed upon the Pheasant 

Terrace, 
About A.D. 493, three strange and beautiful birds were 
noticed inside the city walls of Nanking, then called the 
"City of the Golden Mound." At first, the people did 
not suspect the identity of the birds, but when they saw 
that all the other birds assembled and appeared to be 
paying homage to the strangers, they realized that the 
visitors were the famous Fing Huang. (See table erf 
mythical birds in Introduction.) The terrace was buflt 
to oonmiemorate the occasion. 

Nc(e 36. Here also, drifting clouds may blind (he Sun. - 

The drifting clouds are supposed to be the evO ooortiers 
who have poisoned the mind of the Emperor, Le. the 
. Sun, against Li T'al-po. 

THE NORTHERN FLIGHT 

Note 37, The An Lu^an rebeUion, which broke out during the 
reign of the T'ang Emperor, Ming Huang, was very 
nearly successful, and, if the leader had not been assas- 
dnated in a.d. 757 by his son, might have caused the 
overthrow of the dynasty. As it was, the Emperor, hav- 
ing fled to Szechwan — a step strongly deprecated by LI 
Tai-po in the poem, "The Perils of the Shu Road" (see 
Note 11) — abdicated in favour of his son, Su Tsung, 
who crushed the rebellion. The poem refers to the time 
when it was at its height, and the Emperor's forces wa« 
flying to the North. 

Note 38. The rushing whale squeezes the Yellow River; 

The man-eating beasts with long tusks assemble at Lo Yang. 
During the rebdlion, both sides of the Yellow River were 

' 188 



■■'J 



NOTES 

lined with rebels, the population was obliged to fly, and 
the country was devastated as if a whale had rushed up 
the river and caused it to overflow its banks. 
The " beasts *' are fabulous creatures called iso ehihy with 
tusks three feet long, who delight in eating the flesh 
of men. Li T'ai-po uses them metaphorically for the 
rebels who are threatening the capital. 

Nate 39. When, before our glad faces, shall toe see the Glory of Heaven? 
The Emperor, under the usual figure of the Sun. 

THE CROSSWISE RIVER 

Note 40. / say the Crosswise River is terrible. 

The savage wind blows as if it would overturn the HeaverCs 
Gale Mountains. 
The "Crosswise River" is that section of the Yangtze 
which flows past steep cliffs in AnhweL The " Heaven's 
Gate Mountains*' tower above, making a sharp defile. 

Note 4f . From the beginning of things, the Ox Ledge has been more 

dangerous than the Standing Horse Hill. 
A very swift current runs past the Ox Ledge, and boats 
are obliged to wait for daylight before attempting to 
breast it. The Standing Horse Hill, so called from its 
resemblance to a standing horse, is above a reach of the 
Yangtze where the river is comparatively tranquil. 

N(^ 42. It the Eighth Month tide-bore of CMkiang equal to this? 

The T'ien River in Chekiang is famous for its bore, or 
tidal wave. During the Autumnal equinox, this bore 
sometimes attains a height of twenty feet and more. 

CITANG KAN 

Note US. I could not yet lay aside my face of shame; 
I hung my head, facing the dark loalL 

189 



NOTES 

In China, little girls are supposed to hide their faces at 

the suggestion of marriage. 

Note 44. I often thought thai you were the faithful man who clung to the 

bridge-post. 
A certain Wei Sheng had a great reputation for sincerity 
and reliability, which was put to proof on an occasion 
when he had an appointment with a lady to meet on a 
bridge. The lady did not come. But, in spite of the fact 
that the waters rose to a flood, Wei Sh^ng would not 
leave. Finally, as he stood there clinging to the bridge- 
post to keep himself firm, the waves engulfed him and he 
was never seen again. 

Note 45. Thai I should never be obliged to ascend (he Looking-foT' 

Husband Ledge. 
A hiU on the banks of the Yangtze, so called because of 
a legend that, many centuries ago, a wife, whose husband 
had been away for several years, went daily to watch for 
his returning sail. In the end, she was turned to stone on 
the spot where she had kept her vigil. 

NoU U6. To the CKii Tang Chasm and the Whirling Waier Rock cf 

the Yii River 

Which, during the Fifth Month, must not be collided with; 

Where the wailing of the gibbons seems to come from the sky. 
The Ch*ii T*ang is the first of the three noted chasms in 
the upper reaches of the Yangtze. At the point where 
the River Yii empties into the Yangtze, there is a great 
rock which, when uncovered, is more than two hundred 
feet high. In the Fifth Month (June) the water from the 
melting snows of the Tibetan mountains causes the river 
to rise to such an extent that the rock is covered, which 
makes it especially dangerous to navigation. The height 
of the clifl's on either side of the gorge is so tremendous 
that the wailing of the gibbons (see Note 15) in the woods 
above sounds as though it came from the sky. 

190 



NOTES 

Note 47. I will not go far on the road to meet you^ 

I will go straight until I reach the lx>ng Wind Sands* 

The Long Wind Sands are many a day's journey from 
the village of Ch*ang Kan, which stands just outside the 
South Gate of Nanking. What the lady implies is that 
she will go to "the ends of the earth" to meet her re- 
turning husband. 

SORROW DURING A CLEAR AUTUMN 

Note 4^. I climb the hills of Chiu I, 

The Chiu I, or "Nine Peaks,'* lie to the South of the 
Tung T'ing Lake (see map) into which the three divisions 
of the Hsiang River debouch after having united. 

Note ^. I go by the ''Bird's Paihr 

A term very often used for steep mountain paths. 

N(Ae 50, I think much of fishing for a leviathan from the Island of the 

Cold Sea. 
The legend referred to at the end of the poem is as fol- 
lows: A group of five islands in the Pi Hai, the Jade-grey 
Sea, were inhabited by the Lnmortals, who found them- 
sehres very uncomfortable as these islands, instead of 
standing firmly, rose and fell in the most disconcerting 
manner. The Inmiortals therefore applied to the Jade 
Emperor for assistance, and he conmianded fifteen levia- 
thans, three to each island, to raise their heads and sup- 
port the islands, thus keeping them from rocking. All 
was well until a man from the Elder Dragon Country 
appeared and with one cast of his line caught six of the 
monsters, the result being that two of the islands toppled 
over and sank in the sea. The three which remain are 
known as the "Three Hills of the Inmiortals." This tale 
has become proverbial, and people who are disappointed 
in their ambition say " I have no rod with which to catch 
a leviathan." 

191 



NOTES 

POIGNANT GRIEF DURING A SUNNY SPRING 

NoU 5i* I feel om one feels listening to the sound of the waiers cf the 

Dragon Mound in Ch*in, 
(Se^ Note 9.) 

Note 52. The gibbons toailing by the Serpent River. 
(See Note 15.) 

Note 53. I feel as the ''Shining One" felt when she passed the Jade 

Frontier, 
As the exile of Ch'u in the Maple Forest. 

Two allusions which suggest homesickness. The ''Shining 
One " is Chao Chiin. (See Note 79.) The exile of Ch'u 
is Ch'U Yiian, the famous statesman. (See Note 62.) 

TWO POEMS WRITTEN TO TSUI (THE OFFICIAL) 

Note 54. In both these poems, Ts'ui is compared to T'ao Yiian- 
ming, author of **Once More Fields and Gardens," 
published in this volume. T*ao is the ideal of the edu- 
cated scholar, who prefers a life in the fields to any of- 
ficial post. Many stories are told of him. He planted 
five willows in front of his house, and is therefore often 
spoken of as the " Teacher of the Five Willows." He was 
so fond of music that he declared he could imagine the 
sweet sounds of the eh* in, and often carried about a 
stringless instrument over which he moved his hands. 
The c/i*m, or table-lute, is fully described in Note 114. 

WIND-BOUND AT THE NEW FOREST REACH 

Note 55. To-day, at dawn, see the willows beyond the White Gate. 

The White Gate is the Western Gate. The points of the 
compass are governed by colours, elements, mythologi- 
cal beasts, and seasons, thus: 
East: Green. Wood. The Blue-green Dragon. Spring. 

192 



. ..^jsM 



NOTES 

South: Red. Fire. The Vermilion Bird. Summer. 
West: White. Metal. The White Tiger. Autumn. 
North: Black. Water. The Black Warrior. Winter. 
Centre: Yellow. Earth. 

DRINKING ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT 

Note 56. Bui we will keep our appointment by the far-off Cloudy River, 
The Cloudy River is the Chinese name for the Milky 
Way. 

Note 57, There would be no Wine Star in Heaven. 

m 

The Wine Star is a constellation composed of three stars, 
to the North of the Dipper. 

Note 58, There should be no Wine Springs on Earth, 

The Wine Springs lie, one in Kansu, and one in Shansi. 
(See map.) The water of the one in Kansu is supposed to 
taste like wine, that of the one in Shansi is used in the 
making of wine. 

RIVER CHANT 

Note 59, Jade flageolets and pipes of gold. 

The Chinese flageolet is a tube measuring a little more 
than a foot in length. It has five holes above, one below, 
and one at the end through which it is played. They are 
now made of bamboo, but formerly were made of copper, 
jadestone, or marble, as such materials were considered 
less liable to be affected by the weather. 

Note 60. The Immortal loaited. 

Then mounted and rode the yellow crane. 

Tou Tzu-an, who had attained Immortality by living a 
life of contemplation, was transported to the Taoist 
Paradise by a crane so old that it had turned yellow. 

193 



NOTES 

Note 61. Rather would he he followed by the while gulls. 

This line refers to a story from a book treating of Taoist 
subjects long supposed to have been written by a phi- 
losopher called Lieh Tzti, but this is now known to have 
been a Second Century forgery. A translation of the 
story reads: "The man who lived by the sea loved the 
sea-gulls. Every day, as the sun rose above the horizon, 
the birds from the sea assembled in hundreds and flew 
about. His father said: 'I hear the sea-gulls follow you 
and fly round you. Catch some in your hands and bring 
*them to me that I too may enjoy them.' The next day 
the birds from the sea all performed the posturing dance 
in the air, but did not descend.'* 

Note 62. The tzti and fu of Ch'iX P'ing hang suspended like the sun 

and moon. 
The izii and fu are two irregular forms of verse, they 
are referred to in the Introduction in the part dealing 
with versification. Ch*u P*ing is another name for 
Ch'U Yiian, a famous poet and statesman who lived 
332-295 B.C. (See Introduction.) 

Note 63. I could move the Five Peaks. 

The sacred mountains of the "four quarters" and the 
nadir (or the four points of the compass and the centre 
of the earth). They are the T'ai Shan in the East, the 
Hua Shan in the West, the H^ng Shan in the North, the 
H^ng Shan in the South, and the Sung Shan in the centre. 

SEPARATED BY IMPERIAL SUMMONS 

Note 6U. The Emperor commands; three times the summons. He who 

left has not yet returned. 
The official has not responded quickly to the summons 
from the capital, so the messenger has been obliged to 
come three times. Upon the third occasion, the of- 
ficial realizes that the matter is urgent and prepares to 

194 



NOTES 

depart the next day at sunrise, before the messenger can 
have reached the Palace on his return journey. 

Noie 65, Our thoughts will be with each other. I must ascend the 

Looking-for-Husband Hill, 
(See Note 45.) 

Note 66, You must not imitate Su ChHjCs wife and not leave your loom. 
Su Ch*in, who lived in the Fourth Century b.c, was 
away from home many years; when he returned, his wife 
took no notice whatever, and did not even leave the 
loom at which she sat weaving cloth. 



A WOMAN SINGS TO THE AIR: "SITTING AT NIGHT 



»t 



Note 67, I sitt sit in the North Hall, 

The "North Hall" is a term for the Women's Apart- 
ments, which always lie farthest from the Great Gate 
placed in the South wall of the house. (See Plan of 
House.) 

Note 68, Then, though my Lord sang ten thousand verses which should 

cause even the dust on the beams to fly, to me it would be 
nothing. 
It is said that when Yii Kung, a man of the State of Lu 
who lived during the Han Dynasty, sang, the sounds were 
so exquisite that even the dust on the beams flew. "To 
cause the dust on the beams to fly " has therefore become 
a current saying. 

THE PALACE WOMAN AND THE SOLDIERS' COOK 

Note 69. Once the Unvoorthy One was a maiden of the Ts*ung Terrace, 

The Ts'ung Terrace referred to by the sad lady who, in 
the dispersal of the Palace women (see Introduction), 
had fallen to such a low degree, stood in the Palace of 
King Chao, who lived at the time of the "Spring and 
Autunm Annals," many centuries before our era. 

195 



NOTES 

A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ENCOUNTERED ON A 

FIELD-PATH 

Note 70. Down comes the rtding-whip, straight down — it strikes (he 

Fwe Cloud CarL 
The Immortals used Five Coloured Clouds to ride upon, 
therefore the term, "Five Qoud Cart," has become a 
complimentary expression for a cart or carriage in which 
a beautiful young woman is travelling. 

HEARING A BAMBOO FLUTE IN THE CITY OF LO 

YANG 

NoU 7i. I hear ''The Snapped Willow:' 

An allusion to the old song suggesting homesickness. 
(See Note 2.) 

THE RETREAT OF HSIEH KUNG 

Note 72. Hsieh Kung is the honorary title of the poet, Hsieh T*iao, 
who lived in the Fifth Century a.d. Li T'ai-po, who 
greatly admired him, constantly quoted his poems, and 
expressed a wish to be buried on the Spring-green 
Mountain where Hsieh Kung had lived. Some accounts 
say that he was first buried elsewhere, but that after- 
wards his body was removed and put where he desired. 

A TRAVELLER COMES TO THE OLD TERRACE OF SU 

Note 73. The old Imperial Park — the ruined Terrace — the young 

willows. 
Early in the Fifth Century B.C., Fu Ch'ai, King of Wu, 
built the Ku Su Terrace to please Hsi Shih, one of the 
most famous beauties in history. It was nearly two 
miles long, and took three years to build. Its founda- 
tions can still be traced on the hills near Soochow, which 
was the capital of Wu. 

196 



NOTES 

THE REST-HOUSE ON THE CLEAR WAN RIVER 

Note 74. / lorn the beauty of the Wan River. 

A little river near Ning Kuo-fu in Anhwei. (See map.) 

Note 75. Really, one cannot help laughing to think that, until now, ihe 

rapid current celebrated by Yen 
Has usurped all the f cane. 

The philosopher Yen Kuang (circa a.d. 25) is better 
known as Yen Tzii-ling. The river in which he loved to 
fish was the Hsin An. 

ANSWER TO AN AFFECTIONATE INVITATION FROM 

TS'UI FIFTEEN 

Note 76, A party of friends who are in the habit of meeting each 
other constantly are called by numbers according to 
age. The same custom is used to distinguish members 
of a family. (See Introduction.) 

Note 77. You have the " bird* s foot-print" characters. 

Writing is supposed by the Chinese to have been in- 
vented by Ts'ang Chieh, a minister of the Yellow Em- 
peror (2698-2598 B.C.) who, having "observed the 
shapes of things in the heavens and the forms of things 
on ecuth, also the foot-prints of birds and beasts on the 
sand and mud," suddenly conceived the idea of picto- 
graphic writing. It is highly complimentary to speak of 
a person's writing as being like the "bird's foot-prints." 

Note 78. You suggest that we drink together at the Lute Stream. 

The Ch'in Ch'i T'ai (Table-lute Stream Terrace) was a 
stone terrace where a famous player of the table-lute, 
who is said to have attained Inmiortality, lived. The 
legend is that he took a small dragon in the form of a 
carp from the Ch*in stream and kept it for a month, 
when it changed its shape into that of a dragon and 
ascended to Heaven. 

197 



NOTES 

THE HONOURABLE LADY CHAO 

Note 79. Moon oner Ihe houses of Han, over the site of Ck'in. 

Ch'in was the name of the State which overcame all the 
others and welded China into a homogeneous Empire 
instead of a loose federation. (See Introduction.) The 
lady Chao lived during the Han Dynasty. 

Wang Ch'iang, known to posterity as Chao Chlin, the 
"Brilliant-and-Perfect," Uved in the First Century b.c. 
The daughter of educated parents, she was brought up 
in the strictest Confucian principles; in the words of the 
Chinese, she **did not speak loudly nor did she look be- 
yond the doors, indeed, even within the house, she only 
walked the path which led to her mother's room. Her 
ears were closed to all distracting sounds, therefore her 
heart and mind were pure like those of the Immortals." 
Her father regarded her as a precious jewel, and although 
many suitors presented themselves, he refused to listen 
to their proposals, and finally, when she was seventeen, 
sent her to the capital as an offering to the Han Em- 
peror Yiian. 

Upon arriving at the Palace, the young girl was housed 
in the inner rooms, among the innumerable Palace 
women who hved there in constant hope of a smnmons 
to the Imperial presence. As the Son of Heaven never 
went into this part of his Palace, it was customary to 
catalogue the inmates and submit their portraits to him, 
a form of procedure which led to much bribery of the 
Court painters. The rigid principles of the daughter of 
the Wang dan forbade her to comply with this Palace 
custom, and the portrait which appeared in the cata- 
logue was such a travesty of her exquisite features that 
' it roused no desire in the Imperial breast. 

Five or six dreary years passed, and the young girl 
remained secluded in the Women's Apartments. Shortly 

198 



! 



NOTES 

before this time, one of the Hsiung Nu tribes (see Note 
3) had surrendered to the Chinese soldiers, and as a proof 
of good faith on both sides had received permission to 
serve as a frontier guard. Soon after, the head of the 
tribe sent to ask that one of Yiian Ti's ladies be sent him 
as Queen. The catalogue was consulted, and the decision 
fell upon the daughter of Wang as being the one among 
the Palace women who had the fewest charms. She was 
therefore told to prepare herself for a journey to the 
desert wastes where she would reign over a savage Cen- 
tral Asian tnbe, a prospect terrifying to one brought up 
in strict seclusion among people of refinement. 

Custom demanded that, on the point of departure, 
she should appear before the Son of Heaven in order to 
thank her Imperial Master for his kind thoughtfulness 
in thus providing for her future, and then be formally 
handed over to the envoys. The audience was held in 
one of the secondary halls, the Court was assembled, the 
envoys stood ready, and the lady entered. At the sight 
of her unusual beauty, every one was thunderstruck, 
even the Emperor could hardly refrain from springing off 
the Dragon Throne and speaking to her. But it was too 
late; there was nothing to be done. The most beautiful 
of all the Palace women was pledged to the Hsiung Nu 
Khan, the escort which was to convey her over the Jade 
Pass waited, and soon the broken-hearted girl set off. 

Fury and consternation spread through the Palace; a 
camel laden with gold was sent in pursuit; the guilty 
painter, Mao Yen-shou, was executed and his immense 
fortune sent as a consolation to the Wang family; but all 
this could not save the young girl from her fate. The 
Hsiung Nu ambassador refused to ransom her, and she 
passed out through the Jade Barrier to the ''Yellow 
Sand Fields" beyond. 

The banished daughter of Han was true to the prin- 

199 



NOTES 

ciples in which she had been schooled. Instead of com- 
mitting suicide, as she longed to do, she submitted to the 
will of the Five Great Ones — Heaven, fourth. The 
Emperor, her Father, and her Mother — and performed 
her duties as a wife to the best of her ability in spite of 
the homesickness from which she suffered perpetually. 

Upon the death of the Khan, she felt that her hour of 
deliverance had at last come and that she was at liberty 
to poison herself. This she did, and was buried in the 
desert, but the mound over her grave remained always 
green. 

Because of her pseudonym, "Brilliant-and-Perfect," 
she is often referred to as "Ming Fei," the "Bright 
Concubine." Allusions to her story always suggest 
homesickness. 

THINKING OF THE FRONTIER 

NoU 80. I desire to send the "harmonious writings" 

Letters from wives to husbands are often spoken of as 
though they carried sweet sounds. 

Note 8i. He who wears the dragon robes delighted in the sweetly-scented 

wind of her garments. 
Appointments for the Emperor's use were aU six)ken of 
as " dragon *' appontments, and the analysis of the char- 
acter which means the Emperor's love, is a dragon under 
a roof. Ladies' clothes were, and are to-day, kept in 
cupboards in which scented woods were burned, there- 
fore as the long sleeves of their dresses swayed back and 
forth a sweet perfume came from them. 

Note 82. How was it possible for the ** Flying Swallow" to snatch the 

Emperor^ s lone ? 
The "Flying SwaUow" was a famous concubine. (See 
Note 30.) 

200 



NOTES 

/ RECITING VERSES BY MOONLIGHT 

Note 83. I suggest thcU men meditate at length on Hsieh Hsuan Huu 
A reference, under a pseudonym, to the poet Hsieh 
T'iao, whose work Li T*ai-po so much admired. (See 
Note 72.) "Hsiian** is applied to the names of gods to 
indicate that they deserve praise and worship, and 
*'Hui" means bright, splendid, or a ray of the sun. 

PASSING THE NIGHT AT THE WHITE HERON ISLAND 

iVofe 84. At dawn, I left the Red Bird Gate. 

An allusion to the bird which rules the South. (See Note 
55.) 

N(de 85. At sunset, I came to roost on the White Heron Island. 

According to the Chinese conmientary, this island lies 
•* in the heart's centre of the river, three li West of the 
district of the Golden Mound (Nanking), and many 
^ herons collect there." 

Note 86. And the longing in my heart is like that for the Green Jasper 

Tree. 
This tree grows in the Taoist Paradise, supposed to lie in 
the K'un Lun Mountains. (See map.) Those who eat 
its blossoms become inmiortal. 

ASCENDING THE THREE CHASMS 

Note 87. These are the famous chasms of the Yangtze River, 
between Ichang and Chungking. Their names are: 
"The Terrifying Barrier," "The Sorceress Grorge," 
and "The Western Sepulchre." Joined together in one 
great line of precipitous cliffs, they are among the extra- 
ordinary natural objects of the world and are most awe- 
inspiring. 

201 



NOTES 

NdU88. The Serpent Rwer runs terribly fast 

The Serpent River can be suddenly exhausted. 

A reference to the fact that, although the water €3i the 
river flows with terrible speed while the snow waters are 
coming down, during the Winter it 'is very low, and 
many parts are quite dry. (See Note 46.) 

Note 89, Three dawns shine upon the Yellow Ox. 
Three sunsets — and we go so slowly. 

A diff beneath which are rapids so di£Scult and dcu[iger- 
ous to pass that the utmost care must be taken in navi- 
gating them. Boats ascending this stretch c^ the river 
often take several days to pass a given point. (See 
Introduction for a description of the Yangtze River and 
travel upon it.) 

PARTING FROM YANG, A HILL MAN 

Note 90. You are going to pick the fairy grasses 

And the shooting purple flower of the ch*ang p*u. 

"Hill men" is a term applied to those who desire to be> 
come worthy of joining the ranks of the Immortals, and 
for this reason lead a life of contemplation among the 
hiUs. The fairy grasses and the cKang p'u (see table of 
plants in Introduction) both grow in the Taoist Para- 
dises. 

Nate 91. Riding down from the green-blue Heaven on a white dragon. 
The dragon is one of the steeds of the Immortals. _, 

THE SERPENT MOUND 

Note 92. The mercy of the Sainted Lord is far greater than that of Han 

W^ Ti. 
The Princely One had pity, and did" not appoint you to the 
station of the Unending Sands. 
The allusion is to an incident which occurred in the 

202 



NOTES 

Second Century b.c. when a famous scholar named Chia 
was sent to Ch'ang Sha, Kterally "Unending Sands" 
(see map), and died there of the damp vapours. 

ON THE SUBJECT OF OLD TAI'S WINE-SHOP 

Note 93. Old Tai is gone down to the Yellow Springs, 

The Yellow Springs lie in the nether world, where spirits 
go after death. 

Note 94. There is no Li Po on the terrace of Eternal Darkness. 

This world is known as the World of Light, and below it 
lies the World of Shades, where the sun never shines. 

DRINKING IN THE T AO PAVILION 

Note 95. The garden pool lies and shines like the magic gall mirror. 

The Magic Gall Mirror was a square of glittering, pol- 
ished metal supposed to possess the miraculous power of 
betraying the thoughts of all who looked into it, by 
making the heart and "five viscera" visible. The fero- 
cious First Emperor used It to eicamine his numerous 
Palace women, and those who, by a palpitating gall, 
showed lack of faith were put to death. 

Note 96. The Golden Valley is not much to boast of. 

A beautiful garden built by the rich and eccentric Shih 
Ch'ung (died a.d. 300) for his favourite concubine Lii 
Chu. 

A SONG FOR THE HOUR WHEN THE CROWS ROOST 

Note 97. This is the hour when the crows come to roost on the Ku Su 

Terrace. 
(See Note 73.) 

Note 98. The silver-white arrow4ablet abooe the gold-coloizred brass jar 

of the uHxter-clock marks the dripping of much water.' 
(See Note 22.) 

2oa 



NOTES 

POEM SENT TO THE OFFICIAL WANG OF HAN YANG 

Note 99. The shrill notes of the bamboo flute reached to Mien and O. 

Mien and O are the ancient names for Hemkow and 
Wuchang. 

DRINKING ALONE ON THE ROCK IN THE RIVER OF 

THE CLEAR STREAM 

Note iOO. Perpetually casting my fish-line like Yen Ling, 

Yen Ling is one of the names of the philosopher Yen 
Euang. (See Note 75.) 

THE REST-HOUSE OF DEEP TROUBLE 

Note iOi. At Chin Ling, the txtoern where iraoellers part is called the 

Rest-House of Deep Trouble. 
An inn fifteen li South of the district in which Chin ling 
(Nanking) stands. 

Note 102. Like ICang Lo I climb on board the dull travelling boaL 

K'ang Lo is a pseudonym for the poet Hsieh Ling-yihi» 
who lived in the Fifth Century a.d. 

Note 103. I ham softly ** On the Clear Streams Flies the Night FrostT 
A line from one of Hsieh Ling-yiin*s poems. 

Note 10^. It is said that, long ago, on the Ox Island Hill, songs were sung 

which blended the five colours. 
The "five colours" are blue-green, yellow, carnation, 
white, and black. Anything that is perfectly harmonious 
is spoken of figuratively as being blended like the five 
colours. 
Rapids flow past the Ox Island Hill on the Yangtze, 
which is not to be confused with the Ox Hill at the 
Yangtze Gorges. 

204 



NOTES 

Note i05. Now do I not equal Hsieh^ and the youth of the House of 

Yiian? 
Yuan Hung lived in the time of the Chin Dynasty. His 
poems were both erudite and beautiful, but his extreme 
poverty forced him to take a position on a freight-boat 
plying up and down the Yangtze. One night, as the 
vessel lay below the dangerous Ox Rapids waiting for 
daylight, the official of the place, a learned man named 
Hsieh Shang, heard Yiian Hung's exquisite songs and 
was so delighted that he insisted upon the singer's ac- 
companying him to the Official Residence. Here the 
days and nights were passed in conversation, and upon 
Yiian Hung's departure, Hsieh gave him much silver and 
gold, and eventually used his influence to enable the 
young man to become an official. Since then edl men 
have heard of Yiian Hung. Li T'ai-po compares his 
lonely lot to that of the youth who possessed a faithful 
friend. 

Note i06. The hitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the Autumn 

moonlight. 
The ancient Chinese divided ban^boos into two classes: 
the bitter and the tasteless. 

THE "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK 

Note i07. In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old, 
A reference to a legend of a woman who was turned to 
stone. (See Note 45.) 

Note i08. Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River, 

O Huang and her sister Nii Ying were the wives of Shun, 
the "Perfect Emperor" (2317-2208 B.C.). When he died, 
and was buried near the Hsiang River, they wept so 
copiously over his grave that their tears burned spots on 
the bamboos growing there, and thus was the variety 

205 



NOTES 

known as the "spotted bamboo*' created. Eventually 
the despairing ladies committed suicide by throwing 
themselves into the river. 

NoU i09. Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch*u. 

Ts'u Fei, concubine of the King of Ch*u, was much dis- 
tressed because her lord was of a very wild disposition, 
and only took pleasure in hunting and such pursuits. 
She constantly expostulated with him on his mode of 
life, but at last, finding that all her entreaties were in 
vain, she ceased her remonstrances and sank into a si- 
lence from which she could not be roused. 

AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME 

Note iiO. Besides there are the ** embroidered character letters.** 

In the Fourth Century a.d., a lady, whose maiden name 
was Su, embroidered a long lament of eight hundred and 
forty characters in the form of a poetical palindrcmie 
and sent it to her husband who was exiled in Tartary. 

BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PALACE OF THE HIGH 

GATE 

Note Hi. The Heavens have revolved. The '* Northern Measure** hangs 

above the Western wing. 
The "Northern Measure" b the Chinese name for the 
" Dipper,** and on the fifteenth day of the Eighth Month, 
when it can be seen sinking in the West before bed-time, 
a festival is held. This is essentially a festival for women, 
who object to being parted from their husbands at that 
time. Incense is burned to the full moon, and many 
fruits and seeds, all of a symbolical nature denoting the 
desire for posterity, are set out for the moon goddess. 

Note li2» In the Gold House, there is no one. 
(See Note 23.) 

206 



NOTES 

ETERNALLY TfflNKING OF EACH OTHER 

Noie 113, The tones of the Chao psaUery begin (md end on the bridge of 

the silveT'Crested Jane-pheasant, 
"The 5^, or psaltery, is made on the principle of the 
cKin, and like that instrument has been made the sub- 
ject of numerous allegorical comparisons. The number 
of strings has varied . . . but the s^ now in use has 
twenty-five strings. Each string is elevated on a movable 
bridge. These bridges represent the five colours: the 
first five are blue, the next red, the five in the middle are 
yeUow, then come five white, and lastly five black.** 
("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst.) The most 
desirable specimens came from Chao, a place in Shensi. 
(See map.) The allusion to the love-pheasants is, of 
course, symbolical. By it, the lady says that this instru- 
ment is only properly used for love-songs, with the 
implication that it is therefore impossible for her to play 
it now. 

Note IIU. I wish I could play my Sha table-kUe on the mandarin duck 

strings. 
The ch*in, or table-lute, lies on a table like a zither, and 
is played with the fingers. It is " one of the most ancient 
instruments, and certainly the most poetical of all . . • 
The dimensions, the number of strings, the form, and 
whatever is connected with this instrument had their 
principles in Nature. Thus the c^' in measured 3.66 feet, 
because the year contains a maximum of 366 days; the 
number of strings was five, to agree with the five ele- 
ments; the upper part was made round, to represent the 
firmament; the bottom was flat, to represent the ground; 
and the thirteen studs stood for the twelve moons and 
the intercalary moon. The strings were also subjected to 
certain laws. The thickest string was composed of two 

207 



NOTES 

hundred and forty threads and represented the Sov- 
ereign." ("Chinese Music," by J. A. Van Aalst.) The 
*'Shu table-lute" is an allusion to Ssti Ma Hsiang-ju, a 
great poet and musician, who was a native of Shu. The 
mandarin ducks are emblems of coi^ugal love, and in 
speaking of them the wife expresses the wiah that her 
husband were present to listen. 

Note 115. I wish my thoughts to foUow the Spring wind, even to the 

Stoallow Mountains, 
The Yen Jan, or "Swallow Mountains," lie several 
thousand miles to the West of Ch'ang An, in Central 
Asia. 

Note 116, The neglected lamp does not hum brightly. 

The lamps were little vessels filled with natural oil, upon 
which floated a vegetable wick. Unless constantly at- 
tended to, and this was the duty of the woman, the fleune 
was small and insignificant. 

SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZtj LIKE AN IDOL** 

Note 117, The Mantzti are an aboriginal tribe still living in the far 
Southwest of China. It was here that li T'ai-po was to 
have been exiled had not the sentence been conmiuted. 
(See Introduction.) 

Note 118, Instead, for me, the **long** rest-houses atternaie with the 

**shorV* rest-houses. 
On the " great roads," which we should speak of as paths, 
rest-houses for the convenience of travellers are erected 
every five li (a li is one-third of a mile). These are called 
"short road rest-houses" and are simply shelters. There 
are also "long road rest-houses" every ten li, where the 
care-takers serve travellers with tea and food, and which 
are equipped with altars and idols for the convenience of 
the pious. 

208 



J 



NOTES 

AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF 

MfiNG HAO JAN 

Note 119. I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower. 
M eng Hao Jan (a.d. 689-740) was a very famous poet, 
one of whose idiosyncrasies was riding a donkey through 
the snow in a search for inspiration. 
The Yellow Crane Tower is still standing at Wuchang. 
(See map and Note 60.) 

I THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND LI 

Note 120. Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu. 

Li Ling lived during the reign of the Emperor Wu of 
Han (140-87 B.C.) at a time when the Hsiung Nu tribes 
were very troublesome. He penetrated far into the 
Hsiung Nu country, with a force of only five thousand 
infantry, and was there surrounded by thirty thousand 
of the enemy. After his men had exhausted their arrows, 
he was forced to surrender, and spent the rest of his life 
as a captive in Central Asia. 

Note 121. Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han. 

Su Wu lived during the same period as did li Ling, and 
was sent by the Emperor Wu upon a mission of peace 
to the Hsiung Nu. By the time he reached the Court of 
the Khan, however, relations between the Chinese and 
the Barbarians were again strained, and he was taken 
prisoner. Various attempts were made to induce him to 
renounce his allegiance to China; he was thrown into 
prison and subsisted for days on the moisture which he 
sucked from his clothes, but all efforts to undermine his 
loyalty failed, and eventually he was sent to tend sheep 
on the grazing fields of the steppes. Years passed, Wu 
Ti, the "Military Emperor," died, and his successor 

209 



■•■»j 



JSM 



NOTES 

Chao Ti made peace with the Central Asian tribes and 
sent envoys to ask for the return of the faithful Su Wo. 
The Khan replied that he was dead, but the envoy was 
able to answer that such could not be the case, as, not 
long before, the Emperor himself while hunting in his 
park had shot a wild goose, and had found a letter from 
Su Wu tied to its 1^. The loyal official was therefore 
sent back to China. He had gone off in the prime c^ life; 
when he returned, in 86 B.C., he was a broken-down, 
white-haired old man. 

N0UI22. WUd ffeese are flying. 

// / Meni a letter — so — to the edge of Heaven. 
An allusion to the story of Su Wu. Letters anxioiisty 
awaited are often spoken of as "wild-goose" letters. 

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS GOING TO 

THE PLUM-FLOWER LAKE 

Note 123, I bid you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on {sn exeur^ 

sion to the Plum-Flower Lake. 
This lake lies about seven miles Southwest of Nanking. 
The legend is that, many years ago, a raft loaded with 
flowering plum-trees sank in it, and ever since, during 
the plum-blossom season, the lake is covered witb plum- 
trees in bloom. 

Note 12U, Nevertheless you mast not omit the wild-goose Idler. 
(See Notes 121 and 122.) 

Note 125. Or else our knowledge of each other will he as the dust ofHu to 

the dust of Yiieh. 
Hu is the Mongols' country to the North and West of 
the Great Wall, and Yiieh is the province of Cb^kiang 
in the Southeast of China. (See map.) 



210 



NOTES 

A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE F&NG HSIEN TEMPLE 

AT THE DRAGON'S GATE 

N(Ae 126, I had already wandered away from the People's Temple. 

The Feng Hsien is one of the so-called Chao Ti temples. 
These temples are erected by the people, not by Imperial 
command, which fact is proclaimed on an inscription 
written on a horizontal board placed over the main door- 
way. The FSng Hsien temple stands in the Lmig M6n, 
or Dragon Gate, a defile cut in the mountains of Honan 
by the great Yii when he drained the Empire about two 
thousand B.C. (See Introduction.) He is supposed to have 
been helped by a dragon who, with one sweep of its tail, 
cleft the mountain range in two, thus forcing the river 
I, a confluent of the Lo which is one of the tributaries 
of the Yellow River, to confine itself within the defile 
through which it runs in a series of rapids. 

CROSSING THE FRONTIER — II 

Note 127, Sadness everywhere, A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet 

jar the air. 
The Hsiung Nu soldiers, against whom the Chinese are 
fighting, are so near that the sounds of their flageolets 
can be plainly heard. 

Note 128. Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao, 
(See Note 4.) 

AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. THINKING OF U T'AI-PO 

Note 129, The demons where you are rejoice to see men go by. 

The demons are of the man-eating variety, the yao kuai. 
(See table of supernatural beings in Introduction.) 

Note 130. You should hold speech with the soul of Yiian. 

Ch'ii Yiian (see Note 62) drowned himself in the Mi Lo 
River. 

211 



NOTES 

SENT TO U PO AS A GIFT 

Noie iSi, And remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed, 

Ko Hung, author of "Biographies of the Gods,** lived in 
the Fourth Century a.d. Although very poor, he pur- 
sued his studies with such zeal that he became an officiaL 
Having heard that the cinnabar, from which the Ellixir of 
Immortality is distilled, came from Cochin China, he 
begged to be appointed to a magistracy in the South in 
order that he might obtain a supply for experimental 
purposes on the spot. Arrived in Kwangtmig, he spent 
his time on Mount Lo Fo attempting to compound this 
elixir, and so, working at his experiments, passed into a 
tranquil sleep. When his friends went to wcJ^e him, they 
found his clothes empty. Ko Hung had ascended to the 
Taoist Paradise to live forever among the Immortals. 

HEARING THE EARLY ORIOLE 

Noie 132. The sun rose while I slept, I had not yet risen. 

The poem alludes to the curious Chinese custom of hold- 
ing Imperial audiences at dawn. This custom was per- 
sisted in until the fall of the Manchu Dynasty in 1912. 
One of the most noticeable peculiarities of Peking in 
Imperial days was the noise during the night, which 
never seemed to stop. Officials came to the Palace in 
their carts, while it was still dark, in order to be ready 
for the audience at dawn. It is clear from Po ChU-i*s 
poem that he is no longer in office, since, although the 
sun has risen, he himself is still in bed. 

AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE AT DAWN 

Note 133, At the first light of the still-concealed sun, the Cock-man, in his 

dark-red cap, strikes the tally-sticks and proclaims aloud 
the hour. 

212 



J 



NOTES 

The Gock-men, whose badge of ofiSce was a red cloth, 
were in charge of the water-clock, and their business was 
to announce the time of day. Near the water-clock were 
kept bamboo tallies, one for each division of the twenty- 
four hours. (See Introduction.) When the arrow of the 
water-clock registered the moment of the change from 
one division into another, the Cock-man on duty struck 
the appropriate tally-stick on a stone set for that pur- 
pose beside the door of the Palace. At sunrise, which 
took place during the hour of the monkey (three to five 
A.M.) or during the hour of the cock (five to seven 
A.M.), according to the season, he gave a loud, peculiar 
cry to warn the inmates of the Palace that day had come. 

« 

Note 134. At this exact moment, the Keeper of the Robes sends in tfie 

eider-duck skin dress, with its ctoud-like curving feather^ 
scales of kingfisher green. 
The "Keeper of the Robes" was one of the six ofiSces 
instituted by the Ch'in Dynasty (255-209 B.C.), the 
other five were those of the "Imperial Head-dresses," 
"Food-stuffs," "Washing Utensils," "Sitting Mats," 
and "Writing Materials." Robes were, and are, made 
from the skins of the various eider-ducks found in 
Northern Asia. The king eider's head is blue; the 
Pacific eider's, black and green; while the spectacled 
\ eider has a white line round the eye, which accounts for 
its name. The feathers are so close and soft that gar- 
ments made of them feel exactly like fine fur. 

Note 135. In the Ninth Heaven, the Chiang Ho Gate opens. 

The Ninth Heaven is the centre from which the points 
of the compass radiate, and it is there that the first of all 
the entrances to Heaven, the Ch'ang Ho Gate, stands. 

Note 136. The immediately-arrived sun tips the "Immortal Palm J* 

• The "Immortal Pahn" was a very tall bronze pillar 

213 



NOTES 

which the Empeitv Wu of Han erected in the grounds of 
the Variegated Colours Palace. On the top was a colos- 
sal hand, with the fingers curled up so that the falling 
dew might be caught in the palm, for, of course, the 
ancient Chinese firmly beUeved that dew fell. As dew 
was the drinking-water of the Immortals, to drink it was 
to advance a step on the road to Immortality. The hand 
was brightly polished, and was one of the first objects 
about the Palace to glitter when the sun rose. 

SEEKING FOR THE HERMIT OF THE WEST HILL 

Note 137. On the Noihing-Beyond Peak, a hut of red grass. 

Huts were built of a certain hill grass, now very rare. It 
turns red in the Autumn, and i& fine and strong like wire. 

NoU 138. I look into the room. There is only the low table and the stand 
for the elbows. 
Much of the furniture in the T'ang period was like that 
used now by the Japanese. It was customary to sit on 
the floor and write at a low table, and the use of the 
elbow-stand was general. 

Note 139. I have received much — the whole doctrine of clear purity. 

The principles of Taoism are called literally "the dear 
pure doctrines.*' 

Note lUO. Why should I waUfor the Man of Wisdom? 

An allusion to the eccentric Wang Hui-chih (a.d. 388), 
who made a long journey through the snow to see a 
friend, but missed him. 

FAREWELL WORDS TO THE DAUGHTER OF THE ^ 

HOUSE OF YANG 

Note 1^1. The sacredness with which the Chinese regard their 
family ties is well known, but it is perhaps not realized 

214 



NOTES 

that the Chinese conception of the duties owed to friend- 
ship entails very great responsibilities. If a friend dies, 
it is a man's duty to see that his family do not suffer in 
any way. Wei Ying-wu is probably addressing the 
daughter of some dead friend whom he has brought up 
in his own family, or she may be a poor relation on his 
mother's side, but that she is not his own daughter is 
clear from the fact that her dan name differs from his, 
which is Wei. 

ONCE MORE FIELDS AND GARDENS. 

Note iU2, But for thirteen years it toas so I lived. 

The text reads "three ten," which is the way the Chi- 
nese say "thirty," but native commentaries state that it 
should read " ten three," or thirteen. This is far more in 
accordance with the facts of T'ao's life. He lived a.d. 
365-427, and although he became an official, he soon 
resigned his post, saying that he "could not crook the 
hinges of his back for five pecks of rice a day." (See 
Note 54.) 

Note iU3. Mine is a little property of ten mou or so, 

A mou is a Chinese land measurement which is equal to 
about one-sixth of an acre. 

SONG OF THE SNAPPED WILLOW 

Note i44. A very famous song written during the Liang Dynasty 
(a.d. 502-557). Allusions to it always suggest homesick- 
ness 

THE CLOUDY RIVER 

Note l/i5. There seems to be no doubt that although King Hsiian 
of Chou (876-781 b.c.) is not mentioned by name in the 
poem, which appears in the "Decade of Tang" division 

215 



■^ 



NOTES 

of the "Book of Odes," he is the King referred to. AH 
the old Chinese commentators agree in ascribing the 
authorship to a certain JSng Shu, an officer of the Court 
during the reign of that monarch, who is known to have 
had a profound admiration for the King. Opinions differ 
as to the exact date of the great drought, but the stan- 
dard chronology places it in the sixth year of King 
Hsiian's reign, 821 B.C. This ode illustrates the Chinese 
conception of kingship described in the Introduction. 

Note iU6. How the Cloudy River glitters. 

The Chinese call the Milky Way the "Qoudy" or 
''Silver River.*' Stars are peculiarly bright and glitter- 
ing during a drought. 

Note iU7. My stone sceptres and round badges of rank. 

The badges of office were made of nephrite. There are 
references in both the "Book of EQstory" and the 
"Book of Odes " to the fact that, after certain sacrifices, 
they were buried in the ground. In this case, the sacri- 
fices had been performed so often that the supply of these 
tokens was exhausted. 

Note 1^. I myself have gone from the border aUars to the aneestrai 

temples. 
According to Confucius, the sacrifices to Heaven and 
Earth were performed at the border altars, and those to 
the ancestors took place at the temples especially pro-' 
vided for the purpose. 

Note i49. Hou Chi could do no more. 



Hou Chi is the deity of grain, and from him King HsQan 
was supposed to be descended. 
Note 150. Shang Ti does not look favourably upon us. 

Shang Ti, literally the "Above Emperor," is the su- 
preme ruler of the universe. Earthly Emperors receive 
the decree which empowers them to rule from hirn, 

216 



NOTES 

NcieiSL Why should I not be terrified 

Since aU the ancestral sacrifices will be ended? 
To the Chinese, this is the greatest calamity that can be 
conceived, since without these sacrifices the ancestral 
spirits would suffer greatly, and might visit their wrath 
upon their descendants. 

Note 152. Droughty the Demon of Drought, has caused these rcmages. 

The "Book of Spirits and Prodigies" states that in the 
Southern regions there is a hairy man, two or three 
cubits in height, with eyes in the top of his head and the 
upper part of his body bare. His name is Po. He runs 
with the speed of the wind, and in whatever part of the 
country he appears a great drought ensues. 

Note 153, I offered the yearly sacrifices for fuU crops in good time. ' 

It was the custom for the King to pray and make offer- 
ings to Shang Ti during the first Spring month (Febru- 
ary), in order to propitiate this chief of the Chinese 
pantheon and ensure good harvests from the grain then 
being sown. During the first Winter month (November), 
other prayers and sacrifices were offered to the "Hon- 
oured Ones of Heaven*' (the sun, moon, and stars) for a 
blessing on the year to follow. 

Note 15U* I neglected not one of the Spirits of the Four Quarters of the 

Earth. 
Sacrifices of thanksgiving to the "Spirits of the Four 
Earth Quarters" were offered at the end of the harvest 
season. 

SONG OF GRIEF 

Note 155. Pan Chieh-yii, the talented and upright concubine of the 
Han Emperor, Ch'Sng, is one of the ladies most often 
referred to in literature. She was supplanted by the 
beautiful, but unscrupulous, "Flying Swallow," who 
accused her to the Emperor of denouncing him to the 

217, 



NOTES 

haei and the Mru (See table of supematiiral beings in 
Introducti(Mi.) The Emperor, therefore, sent for P&n 
Chieh-yii who, kneeling before him, answered him as 
follows: '*The Unworthy One of the Emperc»r has heard 
that he who cultivates virtue still has not attained hap- 
piness or favour. K this be so, for him who does evil 
what hope is there P Supposing that the demons and 
spirits are aware of this world's affairs, they could not 
endure that one who was not faithful to the Eknperor 
should utter the secret thoughts hidden in the darkness 
<^ his heart. If they are not conscious of this world's 
affairs, of what use would the uttering of those secret 
thoughts beP'* Then, rising, she left the Imperial pres- 
ence, and immediately obtained permission to withdraw 
firom the Palace. Not long after, she sent the Elmperor 
*'A Song of Grief,*' and ever since then the term, "Au- 
tumn Fan," has been used to suggest a deserted wife. 



LETTER OF THANKS FOR PRECIOUS PEARLS 



Note 156. 



One of the ladies swept aside by Yang Euei-f ei (see Note 
30) was the lovely Chiang Ts'ai-p'in, known as the 
"Plum-blossom" concubine. As she liked to differ from 
other people, she painted her eye-brows in the shape of 
wide cassia-leaves instead of the thin-lined willow-leaf, 
or "moth-antennse," the form so much used. Soon after 
her departure from the Palace, some pearls were received 
as tribute, and the Emperor, who still had a lingering 
regard for "Plum-blossom," sent them to her in secret. 
She refused the pearls, and returned them to the £kiH 
peror with this poem. 



SONGS OF THE COURTESANS 

Note 157. I ffozefar — far — f<w the Seoen Scents CharioL 

The *' Seven Scents Chariot" was a kind of carriage used 

. 218 



y^^xd 



NOTES 

in old days by ofiScials, and only those above the sixth 
rank might hang curtains upon it. It was open on four 
sides, but covered with a roof. The hubs of the wheels 
were carved. Ai Ai implies that the person she is waiting 
for is very grand indeed. 

THE GREAT HO RIVER 

 

Nok 158. This song, which was probably written about 600 B.G., 
has been elucidated by succeeding generations of Chi- 
nese commentators in the following tale. 

The lady was a daughter of the Lord of Wei, and the 
divorced wife of the Lord of Sung. On the death of her 
husband, her son succeeded to his father's position as 
feudal chief of Sung. Because of her divorce, the un- 
happy woman, who was deeply attached to her son, was 
forbidden to enter Sung, where he lived. 

AN EVENING MEETING 

Note 159, The lamp-flower falls. 

An old-fashioned Chinese lamp was simply a vessel in 
which a vegetable wick floated in oil. If the oil were very 
pure, the wick burned evenly, leaving no charred end; 
but if the oil were impure, the wick turned red-hot and 
formed a glowing tip called the "lamp-flower." Its ap- 
pearance was looked upon as the happy omen which 
foretold a lover's speedy return. 

Note 160, But what is the rain of the Sorceress Gorge. 

The Sorceress Gorge (see Note 87) is often referred to in 
a figurative sense, as it is in this poem. The allusion is to 
the story of a certain prince who dreamed that a fairy, 
caUing herself the Lady of the Sorceress Mountain, came 
and passed the night with him. On leaving in the morn- 
ing, she told him that it was she who ruled over the 

219 



NOTES 

douds and rain, which would ever after be symbols of 
their love. Since then, the expression "clouds and rain" 
has become a euphemism for the relation of the sexes. 

CALLIGRAPHY 

NoU 161. The wrUing of Li Po-hai. 

U Yung (A.D. 67a-747) is often cafled "Po Hai" in 
reference to a place where he held ofiQce. He was a per- 
son who displayed astounding knowledge at a very early 
age, and rose to be very powerful. When he was nearly 
seventy, he was overthrown by the machinations of 
his enemies and put to death. He wrote many inscrip- 
tions and was noted for his beautiful, spirited calligraphy. 

NoU 162. The wriiing of Chia, the offieiaL 

Chia K*uei (a.d. 30-101) was known as the "Universal 
Scholar.*' He was an eminent teacher, and many of his 
pupils came from great distances. As the payment he 
received was in grain, he was said to "till with his 
tongue,'* which phrase has now become a current ex- 
pression for earning one's living as a teacher. Toward 
the end of his life, he was appointed Imperial histori- 
ographer. He was also a noted calligraphist. (See Note 
77.) 

OIVE GOES A JOURNEY 

Note 163. Are many stoeet-olive trees. 

The oleafragranst or sweet-olive, is employed in a meta- 
phorical sense to denote literary honours. Scholars who 
have successfully passed their examinations are said to 
have gathered its branches. 

ON THE CLASSIC OF THE HILLS AND SEA 

Note 16^. Because the Yellow Emperor considers them of importance^ 

220 



NOTES 

The Yellow Emperor is one of the five mythical sov- 
ereigns who ruled circa 2697 B.C. and is supposed to have 
reigned a hundred years. 

THE SOLITARY TRAVELLER 

Note 165. He has attended an ImperUd audience at the Twelve Towers. 
The "Twelve Towers" was a palace built by Ming 
Huang (see Note 30) for the use of his ladies. It was an 
attempted imitation of a building supposed to have been 
erected by the Yellow Emperor (see Note 164) for the 
use of the Immortals. By his reference to it, one knows 
that the traveller has been to Court and is returning 
disappointed. 

SPRING. AUTUMN. WINTER 

Note 166. It makes me think 

Of the Peach-Blossom Fountain, 
An allusion to a well-known allegory, "The Peach- 
Blossom Fountain," by T'ao Yiian-ming. (See Note 
142.) It teUs how a fisherman, who was lost, found him- 
self in a beautiful country where the people all wore 
strange clothes of very old-fashioned cut. On coming 
home, he told many stories about this enchanting land, 
but it could never be found again. The gods had per- 
mitted the fisherman to return for a short time to the 
"peach-blossom" days of his youth, although he could 
never remember the road he had taken, nor even point 
out the direction in which it lay. 



221 






(?' 



'if 



KEY TO PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE 

OF THE BETTER CLASS 

Shaded Sections — Buildings. 
White Sections — Courtyards. 

The house faces South. 

No. L Chao PL Spirit Wall. Built to protect the main en- 

trance from the malign influence of evil 
spirits: these move most easily in a straight 
line and find difficulty in turning comers, 
therefore a wall before the Great Gate is an 
effective defence. 

No. 2. TaMin. Great Gate. 

No. 3. Min Fang. Gate-keeper's Room. 

No, 4. Ting Tzd Lang. Covered passage leading from the Reception 

Hall to the Great Gate and opening on the 
street. 

No. 5. Lang. Covered passage-way. 

No. 6. Ting. Reception Hall. 

No. 7. Lang. Covered passage-way. 

No. 8. Ting. Inner Reception Hall. 

No. 9. CKih. A stone-paved courtyard. It has no roof 

and is raised in the centre. On great occa- 
sions, such as weddings, birthdays, and so 
on, it can be roofed and floored, thus being 
made a part of the house. Trees and flowers 
are not planted in this court, but are set 
about in pots. 

No. iO. Ting. A courtyard. In this second courtyard, to 

which steps lead down, trees and flowers 
are planted, making of it an inner garden. 

No. if. Tso Ma Lou. Running Horse Two-Story Apartments. 

223 



KEY TO PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE 

This is the Kuei so often spoken of, the 
Women's Apartments. It is a building in 
which the rooms surromid a courtyard* 
and are connected by verandahs running 
round the court upstairs and down. The 
space in the centre is known as T'ien Ching 
or Heaven's Well. There are eighte^i 
rooms in the upper story, and eighteen in 
the lower. The wife uses the front rooms; 
the daughters, the back. 

No. 12. Haa Ting. Back Court. It is bounded by a ''flower 

wall," or brick trellis, through which flow- 
ers can twine, and is used by the inmates of 
the Kuei as a garden. 

No, 13. Nu Haia Fang. Women's Lower House. A house for the 

women servants. As in the house for men 
servants. No. 18, the floor is actuaUy on a 
lower level than those of the master's apart- 
ments. 

No. iU. FoLacu Buddhist Two-Story Apartments. In the 

upper story, images of Buddhas, and of 
Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, are kept. 
As a rule, it is locked, and only people who 
have washed carefully and put on dean 
clothes may enter. 

No. 15. Tsi Shih. Side Inner Apartment. In this house, poor 

relations may live. The concubines who 
do not enter the Kuei except on invitation 
also live here. Guests do not go further 
into the house than to the wall bounding 
this building on the South. 

No. 16. Tung Hua Ting. Eastern Flower Hall. 

No. 17. Tui Ting. Opposite Hall. This and No. 16 are used 

for theatrical entertainments. The guests 
are seated in No. 16, facing South, and the 

224 



KEY TO PLAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE 

stage faces North in No. 17. A cloth cover- 
ing IS stretched over the courtyard, and a 
wall divides the two Ting from the rest of 
the house. 

No. i8. Nan Hsia Fang. Men's Lower House. A house for men 

servants divided as far as possible from the 
quarters of the women servants, also placed 
conveniently near the Great Gate where 
guests enter. 

No, 19. Ta Shu Fang. Great Book Room. This room is used as a 

library and study, and in it the teacher 
instructs the sons of the family. 

No. 20. Hsi Hua Ting. Western Flower Hall. Here guests are 

entertained at meals. Flower gardens are 
placed on either side, and also walls which 
prevent either the study or the women's 
rooms from being seen from it. 

No. 21. Tsi Shih. Side Inner Apartment. A building used by 

the ladies of the house as a study or bou- 
doir, where they embroider, paint, or write. 
The light is very good, whereas in the Kuei, 
on account of most of the windows opening 
on the court ("Heaven's Well"), it is apt 
to be poor. 

No. 22. CKu Fang. Kitchen. This is placed conveniently near 

to No. 20, where the men of the family 
dine, and No. 21, the dining-room of the 
ladies. 

No. 23. Ch'u Lang. Passage-of-Many-Tumings. The supersti- 

tious belief in regard to the difficulty ex- 
perienced by evil spirits in going round 
sharp comers governs the planning of this 
strangely shaped passage. 

No. 24. Shu Chai. "Books Reverenced." The study, or stu- 

dents' room. 

225 



^■'.i 



KEY TO PIAN OF A TYPICAL CHINESE HOUSE 



No. 25. Hsien. 



No. 26. Ma Fang. 



No. 27. Hua Yuan. 



No.28.SsiiSo. 



A Side-room or Pftyflion. This is a kxig, 
low, outdoor passage, where guests sit and 
amuse themselves. 

Stable. The stable is placed as far as pos- 
sible from the house. The hcxses, however, 
are kept saddled near the Great Grate for a 
large part of the day, in order to be in 
readiness should they be needed. 
Flower Garden. The gardens are arranged 
with hills, water, and rockeries, to look as 
much like natural scenes as possiUe. 
Privy. 



226 



. TABLE OF CHINESE HISTORICAL PERIODS 



Five Legendary Emperors. 

Hsia Dynasty. 

Shang Dynasty. 

Chou Dynasty. 

Ch'in Dynasty. 

Han Dynasty. 

Eastern Han Dynasty. 

Later Han Dynasty. 

Chin Dynasty. 

Period of Unrest, Six Shortrlived Dynasties. 

T'ang Dynasty. 

The Five Dynasties: 

Posterior Jiang. 

Posterior T'ang. 

Posterior Chin. 

Posterior Han. 

Posterior Choiu 
Sung Dynasty. 
Yiian Dynasty. 
Ming Dynasty. 
Ch*ing Dynasty. 
Min Kuo (Republic of China). 



2852-2205 b.& 
2205-1766 B.C. 
1766-1122 B.C. 
1122 - 255 B.C. 

255-206B.C. 

206 B.C.-A.D. 25 
A.D. 25 - 221 
A.D. 221-264 
A.D. 264-420 
A.D. 420-618 
A.D. 618-906 
A.D. 906-960 



A.D. 960-1277 
A.D. 1277-1368 
A.D. 1368-1644 
A.D. 1644-1912 
AJ>. 1912 



227 



j.^ 



CA MREID GE . MASSACHUSSTTS 
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THE following pages contain advertise- 
ments of books by the same author 




Can Grande*s Castle 



By amy LOWELL 

Fourth edition 

"The poems in 'Can Grande's Castle' are only four in number, but two of them . . . 
touch magnificence. ' The Bronze Horses' has a larger sweep than Miss Lowell has ever 
attempted; she achieves here a sense of magnitude and time that is amazing. . . . Not in all 
contemporary poetry has the quality of balance and return been so beautifully illustrated." 

— Louis Untebmeyer in The New Era in American Poetry. 

'"Can Grande's Castle' challenges, through its vividness and contagious zest in life 
and coI<n:, an unreluctant admiration ... its rare union of vigor and deftness, predion 
and flexibility, imaginative grasp and clarity of detaiL"— Professor Jobn Livingsion 
Lowes in Convention and Reocit in Poetry, 

" ' Sea-Blue and Blood-Red' and ' Guns as Keys: and the Great Gate Swings' ... are 
such a widening of barriers they bring into literature an element imperceptible in poetry 
before ... the epic of modernity concentrated into thirty pages. . . . Not since the Eliza- 
bethans has such a mastery of words been reached in English . . . one had never surmised 
such enchantment could have been achieved with words." — W. Bryher in The Art oj 
Amy Lowdl, A Critical Appreciation, London. 

" The essential element of Miss Lowell's poetry is vividness, vividness and a power to 
concentrate into a few pages the spirit of an age. She indicates perfectly the slightest sense 
of atmosphere in a period or a dty. . . . But the spirit of these poems is not the fashioning 
of pictures, however brilliant, of the past; it is the re-creation of epic moments of hist(Ny 
made real as this present through her own individuality and vision." — The London 
Nation, 

" We have come to it — once Poe was the living and commanding poet, whose things 
were waited for. . . . Now we watch and wait for Amy Lowell's poems. Success justifies her 
work. . • . Each separate poem in' Can Grande's Castle' is a real and true poem of remark- 
able power — a work of imagination, a moving and beautiful thing." — Joseph £. Chak- 
BERLAIN in The Boston Transcript, 

" ' Can Grande's Castle' is, in the opinion of the present reviewer, not only the best book 
which Miss Lowell has so far written, but a great book perse. . .. It is a frank and revealing 
book. It deals with fundamentals. ... In ' Sea-Blue and Blood-red' we have the old story 
of Nelson and ' mad, whole-hearted Lady Hamilton ' retold in a style that dazzles and excites 
like golden standards won from the enemy passing in procession with the sun upon them." 

— The New York Times Book Review, 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



Men, Women, and Ghosts 

By amy LOWELL 

Fifth edition 

"... In the poem which gave its name to a previous volume, 'Sword Blades 
and Poppy Seed,' Miss Lowell uttered her Credo with rare sincerity and passion. 
Not since Elizabeth Barrett's ' Vision of Poets' has there been such a confession of 
faith in the mission of poetry, such a stem compulsion of dedication laid upon the 
poet. And in her latest work we find proof that she has lived according to her con- 
fession and her dedication with a singleness of purpose seldom encountered in our 
fluid time. 

"'Men, Women, and Ghosts' is a book greatly and strenuously imagined. . . • 
Miss Lowell is a great romantic. . . . She belongs to the few who, in every genera- 
tion, feel that poetry is a high calling, and who press undeviatingly toward the 
mark. They are few, and they are frequently lonely, but they lead." — New York 
Times Book Review. 

"... 'The Hammers' is a really thrilling piece of work; the skill with which it 
is divided into different moods and motifs is something more than a tour de force. 
The way the different hammers are characterized and given voice, the varying 
music wrung from them (from the ponderous banging of the hammers at the 
building of the 'Bellerophon' to their light tapping as they pick off the letters of 
Napoleon's victories on the arch of the Place du Carrousel), the emphasis with 
which they reveal a whole period — these are the things one sees rarely." — 
loms Untermeyek in the Chicago Evening Post, 

"... Beautiful . . . poetry as authentic as any we know. It is individual, 
innocent of echo and imitation, with the uniqueness that comes of personal 
genius. . . . Miss Lowell strives to get into words the effects of the painter's palette 
and the musician's score. And life withal. Does she succeed? I should say she 
does, and the first poem in this book, 'Patterns,' is a brilliant, aesthetic achieve- 
ment in a combination of story, imagism, and symbolism. 'Men, Women, and 
Ghosts' is a volume that contains beautiful poetry for all readers who have the 
root of the matter in them." — Reedy's Mirror, St. Louis. 

"The most original of all the young American writers of to-day." — The New 
Age, London. 

"Brilliant is the term for 'Men, Women, and Ghosts' — praise which holds 
good when the book is put to the test of a third reading." — Edwasd Gaknett 
in The Atlantic Monthly. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

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Sword Blades and Poppy Seed 

By amy LOWELL 

Fifth edU%9H 

OPINIONS OP LEADING REVIEWERS 

" Against the multitudinous array of daily verse our times produce this 
volume utters itself with a range and brilliancy wholly remarkable. I can- 
not see that Miss Lowell's use of unrhymed vers libre has been surpassed 
in English. Read 'The Captured Goddess/ 'Music 'and 'The Precinct. 
Rochester/ a piece of mastercraft in this kind. A wealth of subtleties and 
sympathies, gorgeously wrought, full of macabre effects (as many of the 
poems are) and brilliantly worked out. The things of splendor she has 
made she will hardly outdo in their kind." — Josephime Pseston Pea- 
body, The Boston Herald, 

" For quaint pictorial exactitude and bizarrerie of color these poems 
remind one of Flemish masters and Dutch tulip gardens; again, they are 
fine and fantastic, like Venetian glass; and they are all curiously flooded 

with the moonlight of dreams Miss Lowell has a remaricable gift of 

what one might call the dramatic-decorative. Her decorative imagery 
is intensely dramatic, and her dramatic pictures are in themselves vivid 
and fantastic decorations." — Richard Le Gallienne, New York Times 
Book Review, 

" Such poems as *A Lady,' * Music,' ' White and Green,' are wellnigh 
flawless in their beauty — perfect 'images.'" — Hakeiet Moksoe, 
Poetry, 

'' Her most notable quality appears in the opening passage of the vol- 
ume. The sharply etched tones and contours of this picture are charac- 
teristic of the author's work. ... In 'unrhjrmed cadence' Miss Lowell's 
cadences are sometimes extremely delicate, as in * The Captured God- 
dess.'" — Akthuk Davison Ficke, Chicago Dial. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

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Pictures of the Floating World 

By amy LOWELL 

Fourth edition 

**The heart of the volume is agarden. • . . The book is as local as the 
* Hesperides/ and as deeply pervaded by the spell of the genius of a place. 
. . . The beauty that knocks at the gates of the senses hes on page after 
page with a clarity and an almost radiant succinctness for which I know 
few psunllels. . . . Surpassing and (I think) enduring beauty." — Pro- 
fessor John Livingston Lowes in The Boston Transcript, 

'* It is a book of impressions, fleeting and delicate, yet keenly and viv- 
idly defined. . . . Here we have imagism at its best; a lovely gesture caught 
at its highest curve of grace, symbolizing a imiversal emotion. . . . 
Originality and individuality are precious qualities, and Miss Lowell pos- 
sesses them beyond any other livmg poet we can think of." — New York 
Times Book Review. 

" There is a riot of fancy here, a com used luxuriance as rich and tropical 
as the garden which seems to be the ceutre of Miss Lowell's lyric inspira- 
tion. ... A lyrical imdertone pervades even the least musical of the 
poems in the introspective section excellently entitled 'Plummets to 
Circumstance,' and a dramatic touch intensifies them. Miss Lowell 
makes even the most casual descriptions ... an adventure in exdte- 




popular book." — Louis Untermeyer in The New York Evening Post. 



"There is a soft enchanted quietness blown about 'Lacquer Prints,' 
drenched as they are with the influence of Japan till they crust to a porce- 
lain frailer than the lining of a bird's egg, or the flushed enamel of a sea- 
buried shell. Life and movement are subdued to a thin stem holding an 
open flower. They are pure colour expressed in curving lines drawn 
over thoughts so intimate they shrmk, even in reading, back to solitude. 

Profound and lovely That is it. The offering of her own vision to 

unobservant eyes, tiie breaking of innumerable barriers, for, among all 
poets, Miss Lowell is essentially an explorer."-— W. Bryher in The Art 
of Amy Lowell, A Critical Appreciation, . London. 

"In * The Floating World' . . . Amy Lowell has shown us agahi that 
she can make a thick volume of verse as entertaining as a book of pictures. 
She makes pictures in verse again and again, and all her pictures are in- 
vested with a touch of human passion or fantasy." —The New Republic. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



Can Grande*s Castle 



By amy LOWELL 

Fourth edUian 



<«i 



The poems in 'Can Gnnde's Castle' an only four in number, but two of them . . • 
touch magnificence. * The Bnmze Horses' has a larger sweep than Miss Lowell has ever 
attempted; she achieves here a sense of magnitude and tfane that is amazing. ...Not in all 
contemporary poetry has the quality of balance and return been so beautifully illustiated." 
— Louis UMnufEYXs in The New Era m Amerieam Poetry, 



It t 



Can Grande's Castle' challenges, through its vividness and contagious sest in life 
and coI<n:. an unreluctant admiration ... its rare union of vigor and deftness, ixedsion 
and flexibility, imaginative gra^ and clarity of detail" — Pkofessor J(»n Livingsioh 
Lowis in CenvenUoH and Reocit in Poetry. 

" * Sea-Blue and Blood-Red' and ' Guns as Keys: and the Great Gate Swings' ... are 
such a widening of barriers they bring into literature an element imperceptible in poetry 
before . • . the epic of modernity concentrated into thirty pages. . . . Not since the Eliza- 
bethans has such a mastery of words been reached in English . . . one had never surmised 
such enchantment could have been achieved with words." — W. Bryhek in The Art oj 
Amy LeweU, A Critical Appreciation, London. 

'* The essential element of Bfias Lowell's poetry is vividness, vividness and a power to 
concentrate into a few pages the qurit of an age. She indicates perfectly the slightest sense 
of atmosphere in a period ot a dty. . . . But the spirit of these poems is not the fashioning 
of pictures, however brilliant, of the past; it is the re-creation of epic moments of hist(My 
made real as this present through her own individuality and vision." — TAe London 
Nation, 

** We have come to it — once Poe was the living and commanding poet, whose things 
were waited tor, , , , Now we watch and wait tor Amy Lowell's poems. Success justifies her 
work. . . . Each separate poem in ' Can Grande's Castle' is a real and true poem of remark- 
able power — a work of imagination, a moving and beautiful thing." — Joseph £. Chak- 
BEKLAIN in The Boston Transcript, 

** * Can Grande's Castle ' is, in the opinion of the present reviewer, not only the best book 
which Miss Lowell has so far written, but a great bo(^ perse. . . .It is a frank and revealing 
book. It deals with fundamentals. ... In ' Sea-Blue and Blood-red' we have the old story 
of Nelson and ' mad, whole-hearted Lady Hamilton ' retold in a style that dazzles and excites 
like golden standards won from the enemy passing in procession with the sun upon them." 
— The New Yorh Times Booh Review, 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



Men, Women, and Ghosts 

By amy LOWELL 

Fifth edition 

"... In the poem which gave its name to a previous volume, 'Sword Blades 
and Poppy Seed,' Miss Lowell uttered her Credo with rare sincerity and passion. 
Not since Elizabeth Barrett's ' Vision of Poets' has there been such a confession of 
faith in the mission of poetry, such a stem compulsion of dedication laid upon the 
poet. And in her latest work we find proof that she has lived according to her con- 
fession and her dedication with a singleness of purpose seldom encountered in our 
fluid time. 

"'Men, Women, and Ghosts' is a book greatly and strenuously imagined. . . . 
Miss Lowell is a great romantic. . . . She belongs to the few who, in every genera- 
tion, feel that poetry is a high calling, and who press undeviatingly toward the 
mark. They are few, and they are frequently lonely, but they lead." — New York 
Times Book Review, 

"... 'The Hammers' is a really thrilling piece of work; the skill with which it 
is divided into different moods and motifs is something more than a tour de force. 
The way the different hammers are characterized and given voice, the varjdng 
music wrung from them (from the ponderous banging of the hammers at the 
building of the 'Bellerophon' to their light tapping as they pick off the letters of 
Napoleon's victories on the arch of the Place du Carrousel), the emphasis with 
which they reveal a whole period — these are the things one sees rarely." — 
loms Untermeyek in the Chicago Evening Post, 

"... Beautiful . . . poetry as authentic as any we know. It is individual, 
innocent of echo and imitation, with the uniqueness that comes of personal 
genius. . . . Miss Lowell strives to get into words the effects of the painter's palette 
and the musician's score. And life withal. Does she succeed? I should say she 
does, and the first poem in this book, 'Patterns,' is a brilliant, aesthetic achieve- 
ment in a combination of story, imagism, and symbolism. 'Men, Women, and 
Ghosts' is a volimie that contains beautiful poetry for all readers who have the 
root of the matter in them." — Reedy s Mirror, St. Louis. 

"The most original of all the young American writers of to-day." — Tke New 
Age, London. 

"Brilliant is the term for 'Men, Women, and Ghosts' — praise which holds 
good when the book is put to the test of a third reading." — Edwasd Gasnett 
in The Atlantic Monthly. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



A Dome of Many-O)loured Glass 



By amy LOWELL 



Fifth ediHon 



"These poems arouse interest, and justify it by the result. Miss Lowell is the 
sister ol President Lowell ol Harvard. Her art, however, needs no reflection from 
such distinguished influence to make apparent its distinction. Such verse as this 
is delightful, has a sort of personal flavour, a loyalty to the fimdamentals of life 
and nationality. . . . The child poems are particularly graceful." — Boston Eve- 
ning Transcript, Boston, Mass. 

"Miss Lowell has given expression in exquisite form to many beautiful 
thoughts, inspired by a variety of subjects and based on some of the loftiest 
ideals. . . . 

"The verses are grouped under the captions 'Lyrical Poems,' 'Sonnets,' and 
'Verses for Children.' . . . 

"It is difficult to say which of these are the most successful. Indeed, all reveal 
Miss Lowell's powers of observation from the view-point of a lover of nature. 
Moreover, Miss Lowell writes with a gentle philosophy and a deep knowledge of 
humanity. . . . 

"The sonnets are especially appealing and touch the heart strings so tenderly 
that there comes immediate response in the same spirit. . . . 

"That she knows the workings of the juvenile mind is plainly indicated by her 
verses written for their reading." — Boston Sunday Globe, Boston, Mass. 

"A quite delightful little collection of vtncs,** — Toronto Globe, Toronto, 
Canada. 

"The Lyrics are true to the old definition; they would sing well to the accom- 
paniment of the strings. We should like to hear 'Horn Stellatriz' rendered by an 
artist." — J7ar(/0rd Courant, Hartford, Conn. 

"Verses that show delicate appreciation of the beautiful, and imaginative 
quality. A sonnet entitled 'Dreams' is peculiarly full of sympathy and feeling." 
— The Sun, Baltimore, Md. 



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BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



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Tendencies in Modem American Poetry 



By amy LOWELL 



Fourth Prinlingy iUustraied 

"1 have no hesitation in insisting that Miss Amy Lowell's 'Tendencies in Mod- 
em American Poetiy' is one of the most striking volumes of criticism that has 
appeared in recent years." — Clement EL. Shorter in The Sphere, London. 

"In her recent volume, 'Tendencies in Modem American Poetry/ Miss Lowell 
employs this method (the historical) with excellent results. . . . We feel through- 
out a spirit of mingled courage, kindness, and independence illuminating the sub- 
ject, and the result is the note of personality that is so priceless in criticism, yet 
which, imhoneyed on the one hand or uncrabbed on the other, is so hard to come 
by . . . her latest book leaves with the reader a strong impression of the most sim- 
ple and unaffected integrity." — Helen Bulus Kizek in The North American 
Review, 

"A new criticism has to be created to meet not only the work of the new artists 
but also the uncritical hospitality of current taste. . . . That is why a study such 
as Miss Amy Lowell's on recent tendencies in American verse is so significant. . . . 
Her very tone is revolutionary. . . . Poetry appears for the first time on our critical 
horizon ... as a soimd and important activity of contemporary American life." 
— Randolph Bousne in The Did, 



''Its real worth as criticism and its greater worth as testimony are invaluable." 
— 0. W. Firkins in The Nation. 



"The feeling she has for poetry is so genuine and catholic and instmcted, and 
her acquaintance with modem activity so energetic, that she is one of the most 
interesting and illuminating persons with whom to visit the new poets, led by the 
hand." — New Republic, 



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Six French Poets 

STUDIES m CONTEMPORARY LTTERATURE 

By amy LOWELL 

Third edition^ iUustiraUd 

A brilliant series of biographical and critical essays dealing with Emile Ver- 
haeren, Albert Samain, Remy de Gourmont, Henri de R^gnier, Francis Jammes, 
and Paul Fort, by one ol the foremost living American poets. The translations 
make up an important part of the book, and together with the French originals 
constitute a representative anthology of the poetry of the period. 

William Lyon Phelps, Professor of English Literature, Yale University, says: 
This is, I think, the most valuable work on contemporary French literature 
that I have seen for a long time. It is written by one who has a thorougrh knowl- 
edge of the subject and who is herself an American poet of distinction. She has the 
knowledge, the ^rmpathy, the penetration, and the insight — all necessary to 
make a notable book of criticism. It b a work that should be widely read in 
Amenca." 



«i 



In her 'Six French Poets' I find a stimulating qualitv of a high order. . . . 

I dcty any English critic to rise from this book without the feeling that he has 

gained considerably. This is the first volume in English to contain a minute and 

careful study of these French writers." — Clement K. Shorter in The Sphere, 

London. 

"I can conceive of no greater pleasure than that of a lover of poetry who reads 
in Miss Lowell's book about modern French poetry for the first time; it must be 
like falling into El Dorado." — F. S. Flint, formerly French critic of Poetry and 
Drama, London, in The Little Review, 

"Amy Lowell's 'French Poets' . . . ought to be labelled like Pater's studies 
'Appreciations,' so full of charm are its penetrative interpretations . . . and it 
is not too bold to say that her introductions to and interpretations of French 
poets will Uveas long as interest in these poets themselves lives. Her book is a 
living and lasting piece of criticism ... a masterly volume." — New Yorh Sun, 

'*A very admirable piece of work." — The London Boohman. 

"Une tihs interessante 6tude." — La France, 

"An excellent book." — Emile Cammaerts in The Athenaum, London. 

"Miss Lowell has done a real service to literature. One must be limited, in- 
deed, who fails to appreciate the power of these writers as set forth through the 
comment, the discriminating extracts, and the appended prose translations in 
her book." — North American Review, 



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BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



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